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JOHN  A.  SE  AVERNS 


Veterinary  library 

Tufts  University 

School  of  v'eterirjary  Medidr^ 

200  Westboro  Rd. 

North  Granon.  MA   01!"3S 


DRIVING 


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DRIVING 

FRANCI5  M  WARE 


Doubled^.  Page  fe*  Compainr 

19  05 


COPYRIGHT,  1903,  BY 

DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE    &   COMPANY 

PUBLISHED,    NOVEMBER,    1903 


THE    CAXTON    PRESS 
Nkw  Yobk  Citt,  U.  S.  a. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTBR 


PAGB 


I. 

Introductory 

3 

II. 

Stage- Coaching  in  Early  Times 

7 

III. 

American  Vehicles  and  Evolution  . 

21 

IV. 

Stage- Driving  in  the  West 

Z2> 

V. 

Road-Coaching         .... 

41 

VI. 

Driving  for  Novices         .... 

55 

VII. 

Driving  One  Horse          .  -       . 

63 

VIII. 

Driving  a  Pair          .... 

71 

IX. 

Tandem  Driving       .... 

77 

X. 

Four-in-Hand   Driving     . 

83 

XI. 

Manners    and    Methods    of     Holding    Reins; 

Single,  Double,  Tandem,   Four-  anc 

L  Six- 

in-Hand ;  Handling  the  Whip,  Etc. 

•                ■ 

93 

XII. 

Driving  for  Ladies 

105 

XIII. 

Bits  and  Bitting     .... 

III 

XIV. 

Appointments           .... 

125 

XV. 

Eccentricities  in  Appointments 

145 

XVI. 

Servants,  Their  Duties,  Liveries;  Stud-Groom, 

Coachman,  Grooms,  Etc.  . 

•                  • 

153 

XVII. 

Equipment,    Maintenance,    Managemenl 

:    anc 

I 

Construction  of  a  Private  Stable 

•                  • 

169 

XVIII. 

Feeding,  Grooming,  Shoeing,  Etc.    . 

■                  • 

177 

XIX. 

Stabling  and  Stalls  .... 

■                  • 

189 

XX. 

Carriages  and  Their  Care 

•                  « 

195 

XXI. 

The  Harness  and  Its  Care 

»                  « 

201 

CONTENTS— Continued 


CRArTBK 

XXII.  Show-Ring  Horses   .... 

XXIII.  American  Road-Coaching 

XXIV.  The  Heavy-Harness  Horse 
XXV.  Type  for  Purpose 

XXVI.  Breeding  the  Carriage  Horse 
XXVII.  Driving-Tours  .... 

XXVIII.  Road-Driving  and  Appointment 

XXIX.  Matinee  Racing  and  Road-Driving  . 
XXX.  Balancing  and  Shoeing  the  Roadster 

XXXI.  Road-Riders  of  Earlier  Times 
XXXII.  Sleighing  and  Sleigh  Horses 


PACK 

.    221 

.  229 

.  245 
.  253 

.  261 
.  269 

.  277 
.  297 

.  307 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

A  Clever  Turn Frontispiece 

PACING  PAGB 

Road    Coach lo 

Park  Coach  or  Drag    ........  io 

General   Lafayette's   Carriage 22 

General  George  Washington's  Private  Coach       .        .  22 

Full-size   Opera   Bus  .         . 22 

Break  with  Perch 22 

Square  Buggy,  1840 24 

American  Buggy,   1826 24 

"Jenny  Lind,"  1840 24 

Borden  Trap 24 

Panel  Boot  Victoria 26 

Brougham 26 

The  First  Brougham 26 

Miniature  Victoria 26 

Landau 26 

Useful  Country  Combination     .        .        .        .        .        .28 

Station  Wagon 28 

Outing  Wagon      . 28 

rockaway 28 

High-perch  Phaeton 30 

Cut-under  Basket  Phaeton  with  Folding  Rumble         .  30 

Royal  Spider 30 

Morning  Trap 30 

Stanhope  Phaeton       . 30 

Chaise 32 

Gig 32 

Governess  Cart 32 

Stanhope  Gig 32 

Park  Gate  Gig 32 

vii 


DRIVING 


Tub  Cart  for  Horse     .        .        .        .        . 
A  Western  Stage  Road      .... 

A  Western  Stage 

A    Western    Jerk-line   Team,    Wagon,    and    Trailer 
(Single  jerk  rein  to  near  leader  only) 

"All  Right!" 

Galloping  the  Hill 

Concord  Wagon 

Pneumatic  Road-Wagon  with  Shifting  Top 
Matinee  or  Speeding  Wagon 

A  Smart  Tandem  

A  Galloping  Road-Four  and  Break 

A  Neat  Turn 

A  Six-iN-HAND  (no  Lead  Bars) 

1.  Making   Right   Point   over   Forefinger,    Overhand 

Clutch,  One  or  a  Pair 

2.  Making   Left   Point,    Overhand   Clutch,    One   or  a 

3.  Clutch  with  Three  Lower  Fingers     . 

4.  Road-Driving,     Full-hand    Clutch.      Either     Rein 

Readily  Shortened  by  Seizing  with  Thumb  and 
Forefinger  of  Other  Hand  and  Sliding  Relieved 
Hand  Forward 

1.  Driving    Roadster,    Full-hand    Clutch.     Off    Rein 

on  Top,  Near  Rein  Below:  Affords  Wide  Control 
of  Direction  by  Twisting  Hand,  Wrist,  or  Both  . 

2.  Making  Left  Point,  Finger  Clutch,  One  or  a  Pair 

3.  Pull-up  or  Shortening  Clutch,  One  or  a  Pair    . 

4.  Driving-Roadster,  Usual  Style,  but  Unsatisfactory 

Because  the  Two-handed  Clutch,  which  Affords 
Control  at  Speed,  is  Not  Easily  Made     . 

1.  Second    Method    of    Holding    Reins.     Near    Lead 

Over  First  Finger;  Near  Wheel  and  Off  Wheel 
Between  First  and  Second  Fingers  (Near  Rein  on 
Top);  Off  Lead  Between  Second  and  Third 
Fingers.     All  Points,  etc.,  Made  as  Usual     . 

2.  Second  Method.      Left  Point,  Right  Opposition 


PACING    PAGB 

32 


34 
36 

38 
48 

52 
62 
62 
62 
80 
84 
86 
90 

94 

94 
94 


94 


96 
96 
96 


96 


98 
98 


vm 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACING  PAGE 

FOUR-IN-HAND,      RiGHT      PoiNT,      LeFT      OPPOSITION     BY 

Looping   Between  Fingers 98 

Four-in-hand,  Left  Point,  Right  Opposition  Be- 
tween Fingers .98 

Six-iN-HAND,    Left    Turn,    Both    Points    Taken    at 

Same  Clutch;  Opposition  BY  Right  Hand  .  .  .  100 
Six-iN-HAND,    Right   Turn,    Both    Points   Taken   at 

Same  Clutch;  Left  Opposition  by  Right  Hand  .     100 

Six-in-hand,  Slackening  Pace  or  Preparing  to  Pull 

Up.  Left  Hand  About  to  Slide  Forward  to  Right  100 
Four-in-hand,  Diagonal  to  Left  by  Dropping  Hand 

TO  Thigh.  Same  with  One  or  a  Pair  .  .  ,  102 
Four-in-hand  Pull-up.     (N,  B. — Possible  Only  with 

Light-mouthed  Horses)       ......     102 

3.  Four-in-hand,     Diagonal     to    Right    by    Dropping 

Hand  to  Thigh 102 

4.  Right   Point   Between   First   and   Second   Fingers     102 

1.  Shortening  Reins;  Left  Hand  Sliding  Up     .         .         .     104 

2.  Left  Point  (Loop  Partly  Shown),  Right  Opposition 

Over  Thumb         ........  104 

3.  Making  Left  Point,  Overhand  Clutch        .         .         ,  104 

A  Convenient  Chaise 106 

A  Lady's  Phaeton 106 

For  Town  or  Park 108 

For  the   Expert  .         .         .         .         .         ,         .         .110 

Tandem   with   Bars  for  Leader.     A  Very  Convenient 

Arrangement 114 

Runabout  Conventionally  Appointed       .         .         .         .126 
Runabout   Appointed    as    it    Logically   Should   Be   in 

American  Style     ..... 
A  Private   (French)  Hansom — Appointed 
A  Private  Hansom — Appointed 
A  "Bachelor's  Brougham" 
Brougham  and  Pair 
Victoria  and  Pair 
Unicorn  Team       .... 
Private  Omnibus  and  Three  Horses  Abreast 


126 
128 
128 
130 
132 

134 
136 

136 


IX 


DRIVING 


FACING  PAGE 


Lady's  Phaeton  AND  Pair 138 

A  Country  Phaeton      .         .         .         .         .         .         ,         .140 

Governess   Cart 140 

Morning  Phaeton  and  Pair 142 

Morning  Phaeton  and  Cob         ......  142 

A  Jaunting  Car 144 

A   Lady's  Chaise 144 

Skeleton  Gig        .........  146 

Park  Gate  Gig 146 

Break  Cart 148 

Meadowbrook  Cart      ........  148 

Break  and  Road  Four 150 

Skeleton   Break 150 

"Cocking  Cart"  and  Tandem 152 

A  "Random" 154 

A  Tandem  Sleigh 156 

Basket  Beach  Wagon .  198 

End-spring  Surrey       ........  198 

Morning  Wagon  .........  198 

Beach  Wagon 198 

Lady's  Phaeton    .         .        .         .        .        .         .         .         .210 

Park  Coach  and  Four  (Loin-Straps,  etc.,  Worn)      .         .  224 

Road-Wagon,   Low  Wheels .270 

One-man  Road- Wagon,  Low  Wheels        .        .         .         .270 

The  Runner  Collars  Him 282 

An  Easy  Win 282 

A  Close  Finish 282 

A  Final  Challenge 290 

High-wheel  One-man  Road-Wagon  and  Roadster          .  308 

High-wheel  One-man  Road-Wagon,  Pair  Roadsters       .  310 

Maud  S.,  2.o8f,  as  a  Roadster 312 

Solid  Comfort 314 

American  Cutter  and  Pair  Roadsters       .        .        .         .316 

A  Family  Sleigh 318 


DRIVING 


DRIVING 


CHAPTER  I 


INTRODUCTORY 


HE  pastime  of  driving  is  unique  in  that  it 
appeals,  as  does  no  other  pleasure,  to  all  ages, 
sexes,  classes  and  conditions;  to  the  strong  and 
the  decrepit ;  to  the  bold  and  the  timid.  From 
earliest  times  the  possession  of  a  vehicle  has 
always  been  regarded  as  an  emblem  of  success  in  life; 
a  visible  token  to  all  and  sundry  that  the  owner  or  his 
forebears  had  succeeded  in  accumulating  at  least  a  moiety 
of  worldly  goods  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  indulge  in 
some  of  the  luxuries  attendant  upon  such  enviable 
condition.  From  our  first  appearance  in  this  vale  of 
tears,  our  peregrinations  have  been  conducted  upon  wheels ; 
and,  even  as  they  furnish  us  our  first  outing,  so  do 
they  provide  us  with  our  last. 

What  more  natural,  then,  than  that  wheeled  carriages, 
from  the  perambulator  period  upward,  should  exert  a  fasci- 
nation over  even  the  most  prosaic,  and  afford  an  object  of 
interest  to  those  of  every  age,  from  the  baby  with  his  tin 
wagon  to  the  ancient  in  his  wheeled  chair.  That  the  fancy  is 
dormant  in  many  natures  and  not  dominant  in  many  others 
is  true,  but  the  slumbering  spark  awaits  only  the  kindling 
of  environment  to  btirst  into  a  sturdy   and   imquenchable 


DRIVING 

flame;  diverted,  possibly,  temporarily  to  the  bicycle  and  the 
automobile,  but  tiring  of  them  in  the  one  case  through  the 
irksomeness  of  the  attendant  labour,  in  the  other  through  the 
inherent  objection  which  any  refined  nature  feels  to  stench, 
dirt,  turmoil  and  danger,  individual  and  abstract. 

Like  all  other  pursmts,  driving  may  be  treated  as  an 
art  or  as  a  mere  means  to  a  desired  end.  Unlike  most 
others,  however,  there  exists  an  imperative  demand  for  its 
capable  performance,  not  alone  that  safety  may  be  secured 
to  the  charioteer  and  his  accompanying  family  or  friends, 
but  that  the  peripatetic  world  at  large  may  not,  by  any 
vagaries  of  the  inexpert,  be  placed  in  jeopardy  as  to  life  or 
limb.  If  a  man  (or  woman)  owes  it  to  himself  and  his 
horses  to  drive  thoroughly  well,  doubly  is  he  under  obliga- 
tion to  the  public  that  it  shall  be  endangered  by  no  act 
of  his ;  and  the  individual  who,  understanding  but  the  merest 
rudiments  of  his  undertaking,  wanders  about  our  highways 
and  byways  a  nuisance  to  all  who  venture  abroad,  is  as 
dangerous  a  menace  to  travellers  as  can  well  be  imagined; 
the  more  so  because,  let  the  very  worst  happen,  upon  his 
thoughtless  head  never  falls  a  tithe  of  the  blame  accruing 
from  his  criminal  ignorance.  Beware  the  average  "Sunday- 
and-holiday  "  jehu  as  you  would  an  avalanche ;  watch  warily 
his  startings,  stoppings,  timiings  and  general  vague  meander- 
ings;  and  thank  your  lucky  stars  if  you  always  escape 
scatheless  from  the  results  of  his  inexcusable  inexpertness. 

Merely  upon  the  broad  groimd  that  anything  worth 
doing  at  all  should  be  done  to  the  best  advantage,  the  art 
of  driving  deserves  much  more  consideration  than  we  are 
accustomed  to  award  to  it.  The  most  ordinary  instincts 
of  himianity  should  impel  us  to  wish  to  know  that  our  horses 
are  comfortably  caparisoned  and  properly  driven;  nor  are 


INTRODUCTORY 

the  humblest  details  beneath  our  notice.  If  genius  is  the 
"capacity  for  taking  infinite  pains,"  capability  is  the  faculty 
for  admitting  the  importance  of  usually  imconsidered  trifles, 
and  there  are  more  of  these  apparently  imimportant  matters 
(which  are  really  vital)  connected  with  the  management  of 
horses  than  with  any  other  subject  that  one  can  suggest. 
The  obvious  is  by  no  means  the  necessarily  material  in 
equestrianism,  and  it  is  to  bring  to  notice  many  of  these 
facts  that  this  book  is  attempted. 

The  thick-skinned  and  heavy-headed  donkey  and  the 
phlegmatic  pony  of  childhood's  days  have  not  a  little  to 
answer  for  in  connection  with  indifferent  equestrian  per- 
formance, in  that  they  submitted  to  mauling  at  our  infantile 
hands  which,  unless  circumstances  allowed  our  intimate 
subsequent  association  with  horses,  proved  but  a  hindrance 
to  furthering  expertness;  and  not  a  few  can  attribute  their 
indifference  to  equine  society  to  the  little  wretches  which, 
in  their  childhood's  days,  they  were  permitted  to  haul  and 
thrash  about.  A  certain  amount  of  spirit  and  ability  to 
resent  abuse  is  an  essential  to  every  child's  pet,  from  the 
kitten  up,  and  not  too  soon  can  the  infant  learn  that  he 
cannot  with  impunity  tempt  vigorous  reprisals;  nor  should 
he  ever  be  allowed  to  "pick-up"  haphazard  the  art  of 
driving,  but  be  as  thoroughly  tutored  in  it  as  in  any  other 
accomplishment . 

Merely  as  a  means  to  the  end  of  promoting  self- 
dependence,  intrepidity,  quick  decision,  coolness,  patience 
and  a  few  other  virtues,  the  art  of  driving  should  form  part 
of  the  education  of  every  child;  lacking  the  opportimity  at 
that  age,  it  is  worthy  the  diligent  essaying  of  every  adult. 
Intimate  association  with  horses  never  did  any  one  harm, 
and  there  is  something  lacking  in  the  make-up  of  any  man 

5 


DRIVING 

who  does  not  love  them  and  exult  in  controlling  them. 
Driving  may  safely  be  classed  among  the  amusements  suit- 
able for  the  gentler  sex,  and  woman's  naturally  sympathetic 
nature  and  light  touch  render  her  especially  adept — given 
proper  instruction  and  supervision — and  make  her  a  welcome 
recruit  to  the  ranks  of  this  most  unselfish  pastime. 

The  following  chapters  attempt  to  cover  the  matter  at 
issue  in  an  untechnical  and  intelligible  manner,  and  are 
written  especially  for  the  novice,  and  as  the  result  of  over 
thirty  years'  active  association  with  every  sort  of  horse  for 
every  possible  purpose.  Nothing  arbitrary  is  intended,  and 
nothing  more  than  advice  attempted.  The  chapter  upon 
the  debatable  ground  of  appointments  is  intended  as  a  guide, 
and  is  in  no  way  as  authoritative;  nor  does  the  writer  for 
an  instant  mean  to  do  more  than  call  attention  to  details 
usually  (and  broadly)  accepted  as  correct.  If  the  best 
interests  of  the  horse  and  his  master  are  advanced  by  but 
an  infinitesimal  degree  through  this  agency,  such  reward  will 
fully  compensate  for  the  labour. 


CHAPTER  II 

STAGE-COACHING    IN    EARLY    TIMES 

Early  stage-coaching  in  America  has  suffered,  so  far  as 
the  glamour  of  romance  and  imagination  goes,  from  the  fact 
that  it  lacked  any  contemporaneous  historian.  Those  were 
strictly  utilitarian  times,  and,  beyond  tolerating  the  vehicles 
and  their  accessories  as  a  more  or  less  comfortless  means 
to  the  end  of  necessary  travel,  our  forefathers  regarded  them 
not  at  all,  and  neither  in  song  nor  story  do  we  find  chronicles 
of  what  must  have  been  a  stirring  and  most  interesting  period. 
Coaching  in  England  has  perhaps  been  overfavoured  in  an 
exactly  opposite  way,  from  the  fact  that,  from  a  very  early 
date,  the  amateur,  generally  a  man  of  means,  and  frequently 
inflicted  with  that  sporting  "  cacoethes  scribendt"  which 
has  cast  such  a  halo  over  all  English  sports,  was  actively 
interested — magna  pars  fuit.  It  is  quite  probable,  how- 
ever, that  its  actual  details  were  quite  prosaic — or,  at  all 
events,  no  more  romantic  than  were  the  incidents  of 
American  "  Down-the-road "  life.  Of  course,  we  had  not 
the  English  highways,  and  our  average  distances  were  vastly 
longer :  our  country  was  too  sparsely  settled  to  have  it  other- 
wise. Then,  too,  in  a  comparatively  short  time,  the  "  hissing 
steam- pot"  of  the  railroad  drove  "tantivy-trot  and  traffic" 
into  oblivion,  and  the  ancient  charioteers  were  forced  first 
into  the  background  of  the  outlying  districts,  and  then  to 
accepting  positions  on  the  hated  railroads.  Myriads  of 
taverns — on  their  mouldering  sites — and  traditions  of  huge 
stabling  and  bustling  hotel  life  afford  mementoes  of    these 

7 


DRIVING 

bustling  routes,  and  there  still  live  a  few  of  the  old-timers 
who  were  for  years  actively  interested  not  only  in  driving, 
but  also  as  owners  and  managers  of  more  than  one  prosperous 
line  and  its  tributaries. 

As  has  been  the  case  in  later  days  with  the  bicycle  and 
the  automobile,  the  introduction  of  coaches  in  England 
produced  much  adverse  argument,  and  many  vigorous 
diatribes  were  directed  against  them  as  tending  to  obstruct 
the  necessarily  narrow  ways,  to  impede  traffic  and  to 
endanger  foot  passengers ;  and  the  same  objections  were  made 
to  them  in  America.  Still,  carriages  were  in  use  here  as  early 
as  1685,  though  very  rarely,  and  it  is  said  that  as  late  as 
1772  only  thirty-eight  private  carriages  were  owned — 
and  rarely  used — in  Philadelphia.  The  testimony  of  a 
traveller  (English)  in  Boston  in  1740  was  to  the  effect  that 
"  chaises  and  saddle  hacks  (the  saddle  animals  being  all 
pacers)  were  plenty;  carriages  very  rare;  and  that  draught- 
labour  was  mostly  performed  by  oxen."  The  type  of 
carriage  then  in  use  was  rather  on  the  lines  of  the  modern 
rockaway,  holding  from  six  to  twelve  people  on  its  three  or 
four  seats,  and  entered  only  from  the  front  by  clambering 
upon  the  shafts  or  the  splinter-bar  and  thence  crawling  over 
and  under  the  other  passengers  to  one's  seat.  The  calash, 
the  whisky,  the  chaise,  the  curricle  (the  forefathers  of  the 
buggy)  were  all  in  use;  while  the  chariot  and  the  coach 
(on  what  is  now  called  "concord"  lines)  were  the  favourite 
four-wheeled  vehicles. 

The  earliest-mentioned  coach,  or  "  road- wagon,"  ran  from 
Boston  to  Newport  (then  a  great  commercial  centre),  and 
thence  travellers  were  transported  by  sailing  vessel  down 
the  Sound  to  New  York.  Lines  from  Boston  to  Lynn, 
Salem,    Gloucester   and   Providence  were  shortly  in  opera- 

8 


EARLY   STAGE-COACHING 

tion;  and  from  Boston  to  New  York,  New  York  to  Phila- 
delphia, Baltimore,  etc.  (partly  by  canal  at  later  date), 
coaches  ran  regularly  and  heavily  loaded. 

In  1720  the  first  regular  coach  line  to  run  fortnightly 
between  New  York  and  Philadelphia  was  put  on,  and  traffic 
became  so  plentiful  that  three  others  soon  ran  in  opposition, 
some  going  straight  through  each  way  and  others  stopping 
at  Trenton  over  night.  (It  is  interesting  to  remember 
that  in  1894  Messrs.  E.  V.  Morrell,  Nelson  Brown,  H.  A. 
Caner,  E.  D.  Browning  and  other  Philadelphia  gentlemen 
ran  the  coaches  ''Aquidneck"  and  "Vivid"  on  alternate 
days  between  the  two  cities  over  the  same  old  historic 
route.) 

Even  earlier  than  this,  in  1697,  a  monthly  wagon  went 
through  between  these  two  cities;  while  before  that,  in 
1673,  Governor  Lovelace  (who  first  sanctioned  racing  in 
May  of  each  year  upon  the  course  built  at  Hempstead  by  his 
predecessor.  Governor  Nicolls)  established  a  monthly  mail 
messenger  between  New  York  and  Boston  "  for  the  more 
speedy  intelligence  and  despatch  of  affairs."  Between  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  the  coaches  were  soon  aided  in  their 
efforts  by  forming  junctions  with  sailing  packets  from  the 
former  city  to  Perth  Amboy,  thence  via  coach  to  Burlington, 
and  again  changing  to  the  Philadelphia  boats.  The  com- 
peting coaches  were  known  by  various  appellations,  as  the 
"  Swift-and-Sure,"  "Pilot,"  "Commercial,"  etc.,  and  carried 
about  eight  passengers,  at  .a  fare  equivalent  to  ten  dollars  for 
the  through  trip.  These  various  lines  soon  developed  a 
spirited  rivalry,  and  accidents  from  furious  driving  over  the 
imperfectly  kept  and  frequently  corduroyed  roads  were 
numerous.  The  cumbrous  sixteen-passenger  vehicles  gave 
place  to  the  lighter  one,  of  an  egg-shape,  and  carrying  nine 


DRIVING 

passengers  inside  and  two  out ;  to  this  the  famiHar,  durable 
and  time-honoured  concord  coach  directly  succeeded.  Many 
of  these  were  elaborately  decorated  as  to  doors  and  panels 
with  landscapes,  sporting  scenes,  gilt  ornaments  and  linings 
of  red,  green  or  blue  damask.  Imagine  the  arrival  of  one  of 
these  picturesque  vehicles  at  the  tavern  where  it  was  to 
change  horses,  as  it  rattles  down  hill,  the  foaming  animals 
at  full  gallop,  the  coach  rolling  and  pitching  upon  its  elastic 
leather  thorough-braces;  the  landlord  bustling  out  to  eagerly 
glean  the  news  for  dissemination  later  in  the  day  among 
the  tradesmen  and  burghers  who  patronised  his  tap-room; 
the  loitering  idlers,  awakened  to  momentary  interest  by  its 
arrival;  the  enthusiastic  small  boy  of  the  period  in  full  repre- 
sentation to  see  and  perchance  to  address  his  heroes,  the 
coachman  and  the  guard;  the  pretty  girls  at  the  windows 
exchanging  bows  and  waving  handkerchiefs  as  the  coach 
passes;  the  dusty  passengers  alighting  for  a  moment's  ease 
and  a  mug  of  the  landlord's  best  flip;  a  trunk  or  two  and  a 
few  boxes  unloaded;  others  put  on;  fresh  horses  put  to; 
"All  right,  gentlemen";  a  flourish  of  the  big  whip, 
and  off  they  plunge  again  to  the  notes  of  "  Yankee 
Doodle "  ably  performed  by  the  guard  upon  his  enormous 
key-bugle ! 

About  1818  the  egg-shaped  or  curved-bottom  body,  hung 
on  leather  springs  or  thorough-braces,  came  into  vogue,  and 
has  retained  its  favour  for  rough  work  even  unto  this  day, 
the  top,  however,  being  now  carried  up  on  straight  posts, 
and  not  curved  as  of  yore.  The  first  concord  coach  was 
built  in  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  in  1827 — an  incident 
noticeable  in  that  it  has  had  more  to  do  with  the  ease,  rapidity 
and  safety  of  this  country's  settlement  than  almost  any  other 
factor.     Everywhere   throughout   the   world   its   merits   are 


10 


ROAD  COACH 


PARK  COACH  OR  DRAG 


EARLY    STAGE-COACHING 

known  and  appreciated,  and  the  originator  more  richly  de- 
serves a  monument  than  many  who  have  received  them. 

Travellers  by  these  very  early  vehicles  had  a  desperate 
time  of  it,  and  their  endurance  and  survival  prove  that  we 
indeed  descended  from  a  tough  and  sturdy  race.  The  vehicles 
were  springless,  or  virtually  so;  and  the  luggage  rode  upon 
racks  which  were  set  directly  upon  the  axles.  The  roads  were 
full  (5f  holes  and  ruts — bogs  in  places;  the  travel  for  long 
hours,  the  journey  beginning  at  early  morning  and  lasting 
until  late  night.  The  internal  and  external  accommodations 
were  the  crudest  and  most  uncomfortable,  and  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  passengers  many  and  serious. 

The  national  roads,  when  constructed,  to  Wheeling  and 
Cumberland,  were  kept  in  good  order ;  fair  speed  was  possible ; 
inns  were  frequent  and  good;  the  stock  of  high  quality;  the 
drivers  first-class;  and  the  rivalry  keen  between  the  four 
lines  of  coaches  which  worked  the  roads.  The  encroachment 
of  civilisation  upon  the  West  caused  a  strong  tide  of  travel 
and  a  tremendous  amount  of  mail  and  fast  freight,  so  that 
it  is  recorded  that  sometimes  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  coaches 
started  at  the  same  hour,  all  loaded  with  passengers  (and 
that  meant  twenty-six),  while  three  or  four  extra  coaches 
carried  the  mails.  Runs  of  135  miles  in  twenty-four  hours 
were  common,  and  it  was  said  that  the  teams  were  changed 
"before  the  coach  stopped  rocking."  Thirty-two  miles 
in  two  hours  and  twenty  minutes,  with  three  teams,  and 
185  miles  in  fifteen  hours  thirty  minutes,  impress  one,  in  view 
of  the  roads  and  loads  and  the  probable  quality  of  the  cattle, 
as  extraordinary  performances — especially  when  it  is  under- 
stood that  one  driver  drove  the  whole  trip ;  and  these  unsung 
heroes  must  have  been  miracles  of  strength  and  endurance 
to  stand  the  strain.     In  18 12  the  fare  from  Philadelphia  to 


DRIVING 

Pittsburg  over  the  national  turnpike,  297  miles,  was  twenty 
dollars  by  coach — and  it  took  six  days  to  cover  the  distance. 

In  1818,  all  the  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
Maine,  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  stage  lines  were  syndi- 
cated in  the  name  of  The  Eastern  Stage  Company,  and  an 
enormous  business  was  done.  In  1829,  seventy-seven  stage 
lines  were  running  out  of  Boston  in  all  directions,  and  in 
1832  there  were  106,  yet  in  1838  the  advent  of  steam  put 
this  gigantic  company  out  of  existence.  Of  the  coach  run- 
ning between  Boston  and  Portsmouth  (New  Hampshire) 
at  that  date  it  is  recorded  that  its  pace  was  great  and, 
drawn  by  six  horses,  "it  never  was  behind  time" — this 
coach  being  of  English  mail  pattern  (1773). 

In  1786,  there  was  through  transportation  by  stage  from 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  to  Savannah,  Georgia,  and  the 
vehicles  ran  regularly,  going  from  Boston  to  New  York  in 
five  days,  and  running  three  times  a  week.  Levi  Pease,  the 
originator  of  this  enterprise,  was  hailed  in  his  day  as  the 
"Father  of  the  Turnpike,"  receiving  from  the  Government 
the  first  charter  for  such  a  road,  which  was  laid  out  in  1808, 
from  Boston  to  Worcester,  although  the  first  macadam  was 
laid  between  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  and  Booneborough, 
Maryland,  transforming  social  and  peripatetic  relations — 
being  followed  by  a  network  of  vastly  profitable  turnpikes 
which  covered  the  eastern  States  and  rendered  many  cities 
and  towns  bustling  centres  of  trade  and  travel  whose  names 
are  now  forgotten  and  whose  very  sites  are  weed-grown 
and  deserted.     Tolls  were  remitted  on  these  pikes  in  1800. 

It  is  recorded  of  a  celebrated  old  coach  owned  by  Honour- 
able Ginery  Twichell,  the  most  celebrated  driver  and  stage- 
owner  of  his  time  (183 0-1846),  that  it  carried  at  one  trip  a 
load  of  sixty- two  persons.     He  was  also  the  most  enterprising 

12 


EARLY    STAGE-COACHING 

and  largest  mail- contractor  of  his  day,  and  celebrated  through- 
out the  country.  He  kept  as  many  as  i6o  horses  on  his 
various  lines. 

While  travellers  on  horseback,  in  chaises,  coaches,  etc., 
thronged  the  thoroughfares  at  all  seasons  of  the  year, 
the  heavy  merchandise  was  transported,  via  the  huge  wagons 
called  "  Conestoga,"  from  the  remote  districts  in  Pennsylvania 
from  which  they  came,  and  these  ponderous  progenitors  of 
the  more  modern  army- wagon  and  "  prairie-schooner,  "  with 
their  broad- tired  wheels  and  sluggish  motion,  played  their 
important  part  in  breaking  out,  rolling  down  and  com- 
pacting the  thoroughfares  throughout  the  whole  country, 
especially  along  the  eastern  seaboard.  Drawn  by  from 
four  to  ten  horses  harnessed  tandem,  these  lumbering  arks 
trundled  their  enormous  loads  up  and  down  the  country- 
side from  Maine  to  Georgia,  and  west  to  Pittsburg  and 
farther;  their  shrewd,  hardy  drivers,  a  compound  of  peripa- 
tetic merchant,  teamster  and  Yankee,  ever  ready  to  sell,  swap 
or  dicker  in  anything,  from  live  stock  to  yarn  stockings; 
from  groceries  to  real  estate;  trudging  by  the  side  of  their 
teams,  or  riding  the  ambling  Narragansett  pacers,  beloved 
by  our  forefathers  as  saddle-beasts,  the  ever-present  road- 
side taverns  affording  fodder  for  beasts  and  shelter  for  man, 
their  own  baked  beans  and  com  bread  furnishing  provender 
as  needed.  Active  as  were  the  industries  of  the  summer 
solstice  along  these  roads,  the  first  snows  found  the  highways 
fairly  teeming  (and  teaming)  with  life.  As  more  weight 
per  horse  could  be  transported  by  sled,  and  as  two  horses 
could  handle  on  runners  as  much  as  four  on  wheels,  the 
winter  season  was  put  to  use  in  carrying  merchandise  to 
and  fro,  not  only  by  the  regular  voyagers,  but  by  farmers 
and  their  sons ;  this  traffic  again  helping  to  smooth  bad  spots, 

13 


DRIVING 

to  ease  grades,  to  show  the  necessity  of  better  roads,  to 
increase  communication  between  towns  and  country,  and  to 
circulate  news.  Through  these  sources  of  information  every 
landlord  of  a  roadside  inn  was  very  properly  regarded  as 
the  local  oracle  and  news-vender,  for  his  associations  with 
travellers  from  all  sections  gave  him  a  familiarity  with  the 
news,  gossip  and  political  opinions  and  tendencies  of  the 
day  possible  to  no  other  man,  rendering  him  a  shrewd  adviser 
to  the  man  of  affairs  or  politician,  a  capable  counsellor  to 
his  fellow  townsmen  and  dependents,  and  a  perambulating 
repository  of  various  facts  concerning  the  fashions  and  doings 
of  the  day  interesting  to  both  sexes  and  to  all  ages. 

These  huge  wagons,  and  their  generally  accompanying 
carts  in  summer,  and  the  sleds  in  winter,  formed  the  only 
means  of  travel  possible  to  the  poorer  classes  if  too  feeble  to 
endure  the  hardships  of  pedestrianism,  and  accordingly  most 
of  them  carried  passengers  stowed  away  at  odd  points  among 
the  freight,  condemned  upon  order  to  walk  up  the  hills,  to 
help  in  extracting  horse  or  wagon  from  engulfing  mud-hole, 
and  to  generally  render  a  willing  hand  when  called  upon 
for  assistance. 

These  wagons  weighed  about  2,400  pounds,  were  hooded 
with  canvas,  and  carried  breaks  and  skids  for  hill  work  and 
to  relieve  the  single  shaft-horse,  who  could  by  no  means  hold 
back  what  eight  could  draw.  They  were  good  for  from  twenty 
to  twenty-five  miles  daily  in  good  weather,  always  at  a  walk. 

"The  coach  waits,  gentlemen,"  and  whisking  the  crimibs 
of  the  scanty  meal  which  they  have  by  candle-light  tried 
hastily  to  engulf,  and  will  later  endeavour  with  varying 
success  to  assimilate,  the  half-awake  travellers  gather  together 
their  various  boxes,  bundles  and  carpet-bags,  and  troop 
forth  into  the  porch,  where  the  vehicle  with  its  four  horses 

14 


EARLY    STAGE-COACHING 

waits.  It  is  three-thirty  o'clock  of  a  fine  June  morning,  and 
the  coming  dayhght  is  just  rendering  darkness  visible.  Still 
rocking  gently  on  its  huge  leather  thorough-braces,  the  staunch 
old  vehicle  stands,  racked  with  many  a  mile  of  rough  road 
and  heavy  loads,  but  sound  and  trustworthy  yet  for  many  a 
year  to  come.  Huge  as  to  wheels,  which  chuckle  and  rattle 
musically  on  their  washerless  spindles,  heavy  of  tire,  and 
piecemeal  of  felly ;  sturdy  of  axle ;  homely  of  outline  yet  some- 
how homelike  as  well ;  crowded  of  interior  with  its  from  three 
to  four  on  back  seat,  the  same  number  on  front  seat  (facing 
backward),  and  again  a  like  number  on  the  middle  bench, 
which  folds  up  on  each  side  as  the  doors  open,  and  is  filled 
last,  its  leather  back  hooked  across ;  amply  spaced  under  the 
seats  for  luggage  of  all  kinds;  a  huge  boot,  resting  not  on 
the  springs,  but  on  the  hind  axle;  seats  on  the  roof,  carrying 
four  each  and  three  on  the  rear  or  dicky-seat,  the  total  capacity 
being  (inside)  nine  (twelve  at  a  pinch) ;  box-seats,  two  besides 
driver;  roof-seats,  four;  dicky-seat,  three;  or  a  total  of 
sixteen  "running  light"  and  goodness  knows  how  many 
when  "full";  truly  a  goodly  load  for  the  four  or  six  horses 
in  use,  and  making  the  long  twelve-mile  stages  a  thorough 
test  of  gameness  and  stamina. 

The  distance  between  the  fore  and  hind  wheels  afforded 
by  the  long  perch  and  leather  thorough-braces  made  these 
coaches  ride  easily  over  the  holes,  ruts,  breakwaters,  etc., 
which  thickly  besprinkled  the  roads,  a  strip  of  looser  soil  of 
gravel  on  the  off  side  of  all  hills  making  descent  safer,  and 
giving  the  skid  a  surer  hold  of  the  ground. 

The  four  hardy,  active,  long-tailed  horses  in  front  of  our 
conveyances  were  the  long,  low,  sturdy,  thick-set  animals 
of  the  day,  concealing  one  and  all  a  "bit  of  blood"  some- 
where in  their  circulating  organs;  active,  sure-footed  and  in 

15 


DRIVING 

the  bloom  of  condition — for  this  is  a  fast  coach  and  has  a 
reputation  made  and  to  maintain.  All  of  a  size  and  shape, 
any  horse  would  fairly  well  mate  and  change  places  with 
any  other,  and  run  his  trip  one  way  of  the  road  every  day 
up  or  down.  The  pace  was  always  a  smart  trot,  with  a  gallop 
down  the  last  part  of  the  hills  if  another  was  impending, 
in  order  to  allow  the  impetus  to  help  surmount  the  elevation. 
Ragged  in  coat,  perhaps,  and  unkempt  of  mane  and  tail, 
these  animals  would  hardly  fill  the  eye  of  the  latter-day 
coach-horse  proprietor,  but  so  far  as  fitness  for  work  went 
they  were  unsurpassed — lasted  their  six  to  eight  years,  and 
were  as  reliable  in  the  deep  snows  of  winter  and  the  heavy 
mud  of  spring  as  in  the  halcyon  days  of  summer  and  autumn. 
Their  harness  of  dull,  black  leather  was  strong  and  serviceable, 
but  absolutely  plain,  and  built  like  the  light  team  harnesses 
of  to-day,  with  breeching,  high  hame-points  over  which  the 
check-rein  loosely  hooked,  no  cruppers,  lead-reins  running 
through  the  hames-rings  (and  throat-latches  of  wheelers) ; 
horses  coupled  far  apart  and  loosely  poled  up,  that  the 
widely  thrashing  pole  might  do  no  injury;  everything  of  the 
strongest  and  plainest,  hand-sewed  and  carefully  made. 

The  driver,  his  regulation  whip  (which  is  set  dov/n  at  five 
feet  one  and  one-half  inches  from  butt  to  the  loop  at  the 
tip  through  which  went  the  corresponding  loop  of  the  twelve- 
foot-five-inch  lash,  inclusive  of  snapper)  in  hand,  stands 
beside  the  horses,  adjusting  the  hames-strap  of  a  wheeler. 
Burnt  black  by  the  sun,  shaggy  of  hair  and  ample  of  whiskers, 
his  shrewd  face,  keen,  gray  eye  and  muscular,  wiry  frame 
proclaim  the  man  who  has  dared  and  conquered  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  seasons,  while  his  knowing  air  and  deft  touch 
proclaim  the  horseman  bred  if  not  born.  His  dress  is  hardly 
what  our  English  writers  would  approve,  but  is  at  least  as 

i6 


EARLY   STAGE-COACHING 

characteristic.  His  huge,  high,  rusty,  beaver  hat — the 
receptacle  not  only  for  letters,  but  for  small  parcels,  handker- 
chief, spare  snappers,  etc.,  a  trifle  askew  upon  his  head, 
conies  well  down  to  his  ears;  an  old-fashioned  choker  and 
limp,  linen  collar  "  ties  on"  his  head,  which  is  as  fully  stored 
with  various  messages  to  deliver,  errands  to  perform  and 
business  to  transact  "down  the  road"  as  is  his  hat  with 
packages;  a  high-collared,  short- waisted,  wide-skirted,  brown 
coat  covers  his  broad  shoulders,  and  the  low-cut,  flow- 
ered waistcoat  allows  ample  space  to  the  overflowing 
choker  and  home-made  (and  spun)  linen  shirt.  Ample  peg 
trousers  meet  his  broad  and  heavy  high-leg  boots;  while 
leather  mittens  or  rough  gloves  (if  any)  cover  his  hands, 
although  generally  he  elects  to  handle  the  ribbons  bare- 
handed. This  garb  gives  place  in  winter  to  a  huge  bearskin 
or  buffalo  coat,  high-collared,  and  assisted  by  a  knit  "  tippet" 
or  comforter,  heavy  mittens,  cowhide  boots  covered  by  fur- 
lined  overshoes  into  which  the  thick  trousers  are  snugly 
tucked,  and,  outside  everything,  thick,  knitted  overalls,  which 
take  the  place  of  a  robe.  The  enormous  fur  coat,  reaching 
to  the  heels,  is  tied  snugly  at  the  waist  with  a  bright  scarf  or 
bit  of  rope;  and  the  space  about  this  is,  in  lieu  of  pockets, 
filled  with  letters,  etc.,  which  the  high-peaked,  coonskin  cap 
with  its  ear-pieces  allowed  no  room  to  contain. 

His  confrere,  the  guard,  is  equally  rough-and-ready  in  his 
apparel,  although  leaning  rather  more  to  the  niceties  of 
equipment  than  his  partner-in-work.  A  huge,  drab  great- 
coat, reaching  to  the  feet  and  faced  on  both  sides  and  around 
collar  with  scarlet,  protects  him  from  the  blasts  of  winter, 
while  the  same  cheery  trimming  is  noticeable  upon  his  lighter 
summer  clothing.  Double  rows  of  large,  black,  horn  buttons 
confine  the  gigantic  coat,  assisted  by  a  belt  in  which  are  stuck 

17 


DRIVING 

two  large  pistols.  His  head-piece  is  a  leather  cap  with 
scarlet  band,  and  both  it  and  the  deep  pockets  of  the  coat  are 
bulging  with  letters  and  small  parcels  for  "  down-the-road " 
distribution.  A  genuine,  hardy,  rough-and-ready  couple  are 
"  Coachee  "  and  his  partner,  and  woe  betide  the  recalcitrant 
passenger  who  is  "shy"  on  his  fare,  or  the  venturesome 
foot-pad  who  would  try  to  "hold  up"  Uncle  Sam's  mails 
and  their  weather-beaten  custodians. 

Horses  of  all  kinds  were  kept  and  used,  and  runaways, 
kickers,  etc.,  found  their  acceptable  and  useful  place  in  the 
coach.  The  keep  was  good,  the  trip  reasonably  short — 
only  one  way  of  the  road  each  day — and  horses  lasted  well 
and  long. 

The  sturdy  independence  of  these  old-time  jehus  revolted 
at  the  custom  of  tipping,  although  a  chew  or  a  smoke  was 
always  welcome — as  was  a  "  dram "  at  every  change,  for 
they  were  by  no  means  total  abstainers,  although  far  from 
being  drunkards.  That  they  were  always  squeamish  over 
the  wayfarers  they  picked  up  and  set  down  along  the  road 
may  well  be  doubted,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  huge  hats 
afforded  sanctuary  to  many  a  casual  fare  which  never,  so 
far  as  the  coach-proprietor  knew,  had  been  collected — and 
that  this,  on  popular  and  populous  lines,  afforded  a  most 
profitable  rake-off  to  the  coachman  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
It  is  related  of  one  proprietor  that,  suffering  greatly  from 
this  cause,  and  finding  remonstrance  unavailing,  he  took 
harbour  in  an  unused  coach  and  witnessed,  from  that  view- 
point, one  of  his  drivers,  just  arrived,  arranging  the  pro- 
ceeds of  his  trips  in  two  piles — "  one  for  the  old  man  and  one 
for  me,"  as  his  muttered  soliloquy  ran.  The  coins  were 
divided  equally  until  a  point  was  reached  where  one  large 
bill  remained,  and  this  was  first  allotted  to  "  the  old  man  "  and 

i8 


EARLY    STAGE-COACHING 

then  "to  me" — after  much  thought  and  shifting  of  location 
jfinding  a  resting-place  on  the  pile  allotted  to  "  me,"  and  going 
tnence  to  the  personal  pocket  of  the  arithmetician.  At  this 
point  the  "old  man"  could  contain  himself  no  longer,  but 
burst  from  his  hiding-place  upon  his  startled  employee  with 
these  words:  "Consarn  ye,  Bill  Hotchkiss,  git  yer  time! 
S'long's  ye  divided  fair  'taint  so  bad;  but  by  hookey!  'f  ye 
don't  do  that  now,  ye'll  want  the  whole  blamed  stage  line 
pretty  soon.  Git  yer  time,  and  quit ! "  And  Bill's  career 
as  a  stage-coachman,  so  far  as  that  coach-proprietor  was 
concerned,  ended  right  there. 

The  American  coachman  generally  drove  two-handed, 
and,  indeed,  with  his  loose-coupled  and  loosely  poled-up 
horses  no  other  means  would  have  been,  as  a  regular  style, 
possible.  At  intervals  he  shifted  all  the  reins  into  either 
hand,  but  only  in  straight  going.  His  horses  also  took,  when 
fresh,  rather  a  stiff  hold  of  their  plain  snaffle-bits.  The  nigh- 
wheel  rein  came  under  the  little  finger  of  the  left  hand,  and 
the  nigh-lead  rein  between  that  and  the  next  finger,  both 
reins  going  thence  up  through  the  full  hand  and  over  the 
thumb,  which  shut  down  to  hold  them.  The  off  reins  came 
to  the  right  hand,  the  wheel  rein  over  third  finger,  the  lead 
rein  over  first  finger,  thence  passing  down  through  the  hand. 
As  will  be  seen,  all  the  reins  could  be  readily  shifted  into 
either  hand,  and  the  "slack"  of  both  sides  crossed  in  the 
palm  of  the  hand,  so  that  all  were  secure.  No  graceful  curves 
were  possible,  but  the  driver  pulled  the  appropriate  reins 
without  regard  to  "  pointing  "  the  leaders  or  "  opposing  "  the 
wheelers.  His  lash  also  was  never  caught  in  a  double  thong 
(nor  probably  was  the  old  English  coachman's),  but  came  to 
the  hand  and  hung  in  a  large  loop  ready  for  instant  use, 
most  of   the   driving   and   urging   being   done   bv  word  of 

19 


DRIVING 

mouth — and  not   infrequently   by    throwing  stones  from  a 
supply  carried  in  the  pocket. 

We  all  of  us  remember  the  curious  old  leather  trunks  or 
boxes,  the  initials  worked  with  brass-headed  nails,  which, 
with  the  mahogany  and  cedar  chests  similarly  adorned, 
used  to  be  found  in  the  garrets  in  childhood's  days;  as  also 
the  carpet-bags  and  clumsy  leather  sacks  which,  with  band- 
boxes, formed  the  principal  impedimenta  of  the  travellers  of 
those  times.  Of  small  storage  capacity  individually,  piled 
and  corded  on  the  roof  and  stowed  in  the  boot  of  the  old 
coaches,  they  made  cumbersome  loads,  heavy  and  unwieldy. 


20 


CHAPTER  III 

AMERICAN    VEHICLES    AND    EVOLUTION 

As  in  the  case  of  so  many  others  of  the  manufactures  allow- 
ing scope  to  individual  enterprise  and  intelligence,  America 
has,  in  the  space  of  a  brief  half -century,  sprung  to  the  front 
as  a  builder  of  every  variety  of  carriage,  and  her  vehicular 
output  is  to-day  standard  in  Australia  and  South  Africa, 
and  rapidly  becoming  so  in  other  countries.  Ever^^where 
our  native  types,  or  our  modifications  and  adaptations  of 
foreign  types,  find  instant  favour,  through  their  uniform 
possession  of  the  essentials  of  strength,  comfort  and  dura- 
bility, combined,  as  by  no  other  makers,  with  extreme  light- 
ness and  grace  of  outline.  Even  in  conservative  England 
the  American  road- wagon,  runabout,  rockaway,  etc., 
make  warmer  friends  daily,  and  the  old  English  highways 
are  yet  destined  to  resotmd  to  the  patter  of  the  fast  trotter's 
feet  and  to  the  "whir"  of  the  speed- wagon's  wheels — not 
as  incidents,  but  as  a  regular  feature  of  traffic. 

Not  only  is  the  excellence  of  our  carriages  making  friends, 
but  in  one  detail  we  to-day  literally  supply  the  world.  The 
American  woods  and  shops  furnish  materials  and  mechanics 
which  combine  to  produce  a  wheel  incomparably  better  than 
those  of  any  other  land,  and  to-day  the  vehicles  of  every 
country  are  rolling  upon  wheels  of  American  make:  made 
here  on  foreign  designs  and  shipped  across  the  sea  in  bulk. 

In  the  beginning,  our  home  vehicles  had  for  their  models 
the  carriages  of  England  and  France,  but  the  imperfect 
development  of  our  roads  for  a  long  time  prevented  the  use 

21 


DRIVING 

of  any  but  the  lightest,  strongest  and  most  simply  repaired 
carriage.  Of  these,  the  French  chaise  found  greatest  favour, 
as  being  two- wheeled,  and  our  mechanics  quickly  improved 
upon  it  by  shifting  the  seat  farther  back  toward  the  axle 
(finally  suspending  and  balancing  it  over  this  support),  and 
by  imposing  a  leather-  or  canvas-covered  top,  that  the  heat 
of  the  sun  and  the  inclemency  of  the  seasons  might  be 
avoided.  Gradually  this  ponderous  vehicle  was  lightened 
until,  as  the  demand  for  more  rapid  locomotion,  despite  all 
drawbacks,  increased,  the  "Whisky"  was  evolved — carrying 
generally  only  one  passenger — hung  on  leather  thorough- 
braces,  suspended  from  two  cross-bars  (one  before  and  one 
behind  the  body) ,  and  allowing,  with  its  elastic  hickory  shafts, 
a  reasonable  escape  from  that  excessive  knee-motion  which 
made  the  old  two-wheelers  so  extremely  uncomfortable. 
This  vehicle,  used  by  commercial  men  and  those  whose  busi- 
ness obliged  haste,  was  modified  for  more  sedate  joumeyings 
into  the  comfortable  and  roomy  chaise;  made  and  suspended 
in  the  same  way,  its  large  hood  adjustable  at  ftill  spread  or 
half  back  or  flat  down,  a  leather  curtain  rolled  up  against 
the  front  of  the  top  being  loosed  and  fastening  with  straps  to 
the  dasher  in  time  of  storm.  The  other  curtains,  both  side 
and  back,  could  be  rolled  up  in  fine  weather,  and  the  com- 
plete vehicle  of  the  '50s  and  '60s,  drawn  by  its  sturdy,  active, 
fast-trotting  Morgan-Messenger — flea-bitten  or  black  chest- 
nut, docked-and-pricked-tailed,  up-headed  and  handsome — 
afforded  a  conveyance  which  for  comfortable  journeying  in 
all  weathers  has  never  yet  been  surpassed. 

No  sooner  had  roads  become  generally  preserved  in  fair 
condition  than  our  ingenious  natives  perceived  the  desira- 
bility and  necessity  of  evolving  a  four-wheeled  vehicle  which 
should  combine  the  comfort  of  the  chaise  with  the  ease  to  the 

22 


AMERICAN   VEHICLES 

horse,  uphill  and  down,  of  the  four-wheeled  carriage;  and 
presently  the  first  "  buggy  "  (though  why  so  called  deponent 
knoweth  not)  appeared.  This  was  made  with  a  perch,  the 
whole  resembling  in  general  detail  the  chariot  as  to  the  under- 
carriage, with  a  chaise  body  superimposed;  and  it  was  manu- 
factured both  open  and  carrying  a  top.  With  the  advance 
in  metal-working  the  possibilities  of  this  material  in  replacing 
the  leather  thorough-braces  were  brought  to  the  attention  of 
builders,  and  very  shortly,  even  as  nails  and  bolts  replaced 
in  the  make-up  of  the  bodies  the  dowels  and  wooden  pins 
with  which  the  ancient  chaises  and  chariots  were  held  together, 
steel  springs  of  most  primitive  combination  found  their 
place  and  quickly  played  their  important  part  in  lightening 
the  weight  of  all  carriages.  In  form  approximating  that 
which  we  recognise  as  such  to-day,  the  buggy  first  made  its 
appearance  about  1835,  and  by  1850  it  was  coming  into  quite 
general  usage,  the  square-bodied  vehicle  being  succeeded  in 
popular  favour  by  the  more  flowing  lines  of  the  "  Jenny  Lind." 
Experiments  later  proved  that  the  side-spring  of  elliptic 
form  was  not  only  cheaper  to  manufacture,  but  fully  as  easy 
to  sit  over  as  the  full-end  spring,  and  about  1865  this  con- 
struction began  to  be  noticed;  to  be  followed  at  an  interval 
of  ten  years  by  the  regulation  side-bar  construction  which  we 
know  to-day,  and  which  has  again  been  modified  by  the  nm- 
about  spring  arrangement  and  model,  and  various  other 
patterns,  all  satisfactory,  strong  and  easy-riding. 

As  the  under-carriage  of  the  chariot  and  the  body 
of  the  chaise  were  successfully  combined  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  buggy;  and  as  the  constant  betterment  of 
mechanical  construction  and  of  roads  rendered  possible 
the  propulsion  by  one  or  two  horses  of  greater  loads, 
manufacturers     realised    the     possibilities     of    supplying    a 

23 


DRIVING 

two-seated  vehicle  along  the  same  lines,  and,  as  the  demand 
for  such  a  one  became  active,  the  carryall  and  rock- 
away  were  the  results;  leather-curtained,  having  a  door 
on  each  side  (although  at  first  access  to  the  hind  seat  was 
obtained  by  mounting  the  shafts  and  clambering  over  the 
front  seat),  the  doors  being  at  first  solid,  and  later  supplied 
with  sliding  windows;  these,  of  small  oval  shape,  being  also 
finally  included  in  the  back  and  side  curtains  as  well,  and  not 
interfering  with  the  rolling  up  of  these  protections,  as  was 
generally  done  in  fine  weather.  These  comfortable  vehicles 
are,  like  the  dear  old  chaises,  sacred  in  the  memory  of 
boyhood's  days,  and  always  reminiscent  of  happy  journeys 
and  jolly  outings. 

Wheels  were  originally  confined  by  linchpins,  and  these, 
while  easily  allowing  replacement,  were  constantly  causing 
accidents  through  jolting  out  of  the  socket  or  through  being 
removed  by  the  mischievous  boys  and  village  jokers,  who  were 
as  full  of  pranks  in  those  times  as  they  are  to-day.  To  this 
succeeded  the  single  nut  working  upon  a  thread  at  the  end 
of  the  axle;  and  finally  some  ingenious  Yankee,  exasperated 
at  the  wear  involved  by  grit  and  ensuing  excessive  "play" 
upon  the  loosely  fitting  boxes  and  axle-arms,  evolved  the 
idea  of  "taking  up"  the  superfluous  "play"  by  whittling  a 
leather  stop-gap  out  of  an  old  boot-leg,  and  the  "washer" 
which  we  have  to-day  still  stands,  unchanged  in  form,  as  a 
tribute  to  his  common  sense.  To  the  single  nut  succeeded 
the  three  small  nuts  and  bed-plate  system  of  the  "mail" 
axle,  but  without  its  ability  to  store  for  any  length  of  time 
lubricating  material.  One  of  the  vivid  recollections  of  boy- 
hood's days  for  the  writer  is  the  remembrance  of  that  daily 
job  of  greasing  carryall,  buggy,  beach-wagon  and  pony 
phaeton,  all  thus  equipped;  and  this   tedious,    dirty,    skin- 

24 


AMERICAN   VEHICLES 

abrading  and  finger-bruising  duty  caused  his  first  lapses  into 
that  picturesque  profanity  which  is  at  times  so  satisfying. 
From  these  humble  and  crude  beginnings  the  energy  and 
finesse  of  manufacturers  and  skill  of  workmen,  aided  by 
wonderful  inventions  in  labour-saving  machinery  by  which 
vehicles  are  now  turned  out  at  wholesale  and  in  enormous 
quantities,  have  progressed  until  the  point  of  perfection 
required  ever3rwhere  to-day  has  been  reached;  nor  have  we 
been  wilfully  blind  to  the  merits  of  vehicles  constructed  in 
other  coim tries,  but  have  always  incorporated,  modified  or 
elevated  their  desirable  characteristics  in  our  home  construc- 
tions; preserving  with  utmost  skill,  meanwhile,  all  their  deli- 
cacy and  smoothness  of  outline  and  harmony  of  proportion. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Americans,  as  a  rule,  do  not  more 
generally  patronise  the  distinctively  national  type,  but 
prefer  rather  to  adopt  those  sanctioned  by  the  fashion- 
able indorsement  of  foreign  countries.  This  may,  how- 
ever, be  but  another  and  a  natural  step  in  that 
elaboration  of  living  and  ultimate  unity  of  ideas  which  is 
destined  to  render  the  entire  civilised  world  identical  in 
habits  and  tastes. 

Some  idea  of  the  enormous  increase  in  the  foreign  demand 
for  our  carriages,  etc.,  may  be  gained  from  the  following 
figures:  In  1851,  our  exports  amounted  to  $1,421;  in  1890, 
$2,056,980.  In  1901,  Great  Britain  purchased  $541,455 
worth;  and  nearly  2,000  carriages  were  shipped  to  Germany, 
to  be  painted  and  sold  there.  Canada,  Mexico,  Africa,  South 
America,  Australia  ($346,442  in  1901)  all  purchased  of  us 
enormously,  and  large  as  is  the  trade,  it  is  (thanks  to  native 
skill,  to  the  superiority  of  our  raw  material  and  to  the  per- 
fection of  our  machinery)  but  just  beginning  to  expand. 
The   last   census   gives  America    4,571    vehicle-constructing 

25 


DRIVING 

concerns,  employing  126,000  men  and  paying  wages  yearly 
to  the  amount  of  $70,000,000. 

The  accompanying  plates  are  illustrative  of  some  of  the 
phases  of  change  and  development.  Our  builders  have 
evolved  many  varieties  of  "freak  carriages,"  collapsible, 
invertible,  convertible,  telescopic,  expansive ;  veritable  kaleido- 
scopes in  their  extraordinary  changes;  but  their  success 
has  been  deservedly  ephemeral.  Carriages  are  too  cheap, 
good  taste  too  universal  and  prosperity  too  general  to-day  to 
render  necessary  such  contraptions,  and  they  are  as  uncalled 
for  on  the  ground  of  economy  or  convenience  as  they  are 
outrageous  upon  the  score  of  good  taste. 

To  describe  at  length  the  improvements  and  changes, 
both  exterior  and  interior,  which  have  resulted  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  wonderfully  perfect,  compact,  light,  strong  and 
comfortable  American  vehicles  wotild  wear}^  the  reader  and 
afford  material  in  itself  for  a  large  book.  While  original  in 
many  of  our  styles,  we  have  been  quick  to  seize  upon  and 
adopt  the  best  features  of  all  foreign  construction  and  to 
vastly  improve  upon  them.  No  innovation,  however,  has 
half  as  much  to  do  with  comfort  and  durability  as  has  the 
invention  of  the  rubber  tire,  both  pneumatic  and  hard. 

Briefly  enumerating  the  principal  types  in  popular  use, 
we  must,  as  most  pretentious,  begin  with  the  private  coach, 
or  drag — a  superb  vehicle  as  turned  out  to-day.  In  its 
quiet  colours,  graceful  lines  and  extreme  strength  it  has  no 
counterpart  in  the  list  of  pleasure  carriages,  and  its  lines  are 
so  standard  that  for  years  the  only  change  in  its  character 
has  been  that  of  increasing  lightness — one  of  only  1,800 
pounds  being  in  use  to-day.  That  this  is  an  advantage  is 
unlikely,  and  the  odd  400  to  600  pounds  thus  saved  are  not 
necessary  to  its  competence  for  the  purpose.    The  road-coach, 

26 


AMERICAN  VEHICLES 

equally  standard  in  make  and  shape,  and  equally  perfect  in 
all  essentials,  is  increasing  in  favour  as  the  enthusiasm  for 
this  delightful  sport  augments,  and  becoming  more  usual 
every  day. 

In  the  brake  we  have  a  vehicle  which,  whether  of  roof -seat 
or  body  shape,  is  a  most  useful  adjunct  to  the  establishment 
where  four  horses  are  kept;  and  an  arrangement  for  driving 
three  horses  abreast  makes  it,  for  the  country-house,  a  most 
spacious  and  useful  carriage  for  station  or  other  rough  work. 
The  perch  is  sometimes  retained,  but  there  seems  no  good 
reason  for  its  presence  unless  the  effect  be  personally  pleasing 
to  the  owner.  The  char-a-banc  once  found  favour  for  similar 
work,  but  is  now  rarely  encountered. 

Among  family  equipages  we  include  many  beautiful 
shapes.  The  imposing  calash  is  occasionally  seen  at  our 
watering-places  and  in  our  parks,  and  turned  out  with  pro- 
portionately large  horses  and  servants  it  is  a  very  stately 
carriage.  Its  confreres,  the  daumont,  the  demi-daumont, 
the  britzka,  the  clarence,  etc.,  have  been  passed  by,  as  has 
the  barouche,  which  faded  from  view  at  about  the  time  the 
C-spring  and  the  elliptic  spring  began  to  lose  caste:  an  odd 
victoria  or  two  thus  arranged,  and  a  few  odd  broughams 
remaining  as  relics  to  the  younger  generation  of  arrangements 
which  were  rendered  compulsor}^  to  our  grandmothers  by 
the  illy  paved  streets  and  badly  kept  roads  of  years  gone  by. 
The  landau  combines  the  virtues  of  all  these  vehicles,  a 
grace  peculiarly  its  own,  and  is  unique  in  that  as  a  closed  or 
open  carriage  it  is  equally  satisfactory,  while  its  accommoda- 
tion is  of  the  amplest.  This  type  seems  standard,  likely  to 
perpetually  endure  in  fashionable  favour  and  finds  its  value 
as  none  of  the  others  did  when  it  passes  downward  to  the 
job-master  and  the  hack  stand. 

27 


DRIVING 

The  private  omnibus,  for  both  town  and  country  use,  is 
nowadays  becoming  indispensable,  and  at  a  pinch  makes  a 
useful  contrivance  for  driving  four.  Some  are  made  with  a 
removable  roof  and  an  extra  seat  which  sets  on  behind  the 
driver's  box,  making  a  useful  body-brake;  others  have 
permanent  seats  upon  the  roof.  The  wagonette,  covered  or 
open,  is  the  'bus'  cousin  germane  and  alm^ost  equally  useful, 
while  being  much  lighter. 

The  brougham  is  the  equipage  par  excellence  of  fashion 
and  convenience,  luxurious  in  every  detail,  and  superseding 
entirely  now  the  coupe,  which  found  favour  for  a  time.  It 
is  as  much  a  man's  equipage  as  a  woman's,  as  the  "  bachelor 
brougham  "  proves,  and  may  for  family  use  in  the  swell-front 
type,  afford  nearly  the  accommodation  of  the  landau.  The 
type  of  the  brougham  has  recently  undergone  various  extreme 
and  rather  startling  modifications,  but  the  latter-day  tendency 
is  all  toward  the  resumption  of  the  styles  found  so  satisfactory 
in  earlier  days. 

The  victoria,  or  so-called  cabriolet,  is  the  popular  carriage 
for  feminine  usage  in  town,  park  or  country,  and  the  panel- 
boot  style  accommodates  fairly  well  a  third  or  even  fourth 
passenger,  if  not  built  upon  a  too  generous  personal  scale. 
The  gracefully  flaring  lines  of  the  "  seashell "  pattern  have 
been  tampered  with  by  ambitious  builders  and  some  hideous 
distortions  evolved — which,  however,  endured  but  for  a  day. 
The  miniature  victoria  is  just  now  enjoying  a  vogue  which 
is  hardly  likely  to  endure,  since  it  is  only  suited  to  the  slight 
and  slender,  and  must  be  similarly  horsed  and  "servanted" 
to  appear  in  keeping  with  thorough  good  taste;  nor,  as 
carrying  no  footman  or  groom,  does  it  seem  a  lady's  equipage 
at  all,  however  neat  and  smart  it  may  temporarily  be  deemed. 
For  country  use  the  vis-a-vis  has  many  advantages,  with  its 

28 


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AMERICAN  VEHICLES 

two  seats  for  passengers,  unobstructed  view,  comfort  and 
good  appearance,  and  finds  itself  received  with  increasing 
and  deserved  favour. 

The  hansom  is  deservedly  popular  with  both  sexes  for 
town  work,  and  were  it  made  lighter  (as  could  easily  be  done) 
and  the  top  arranged  to  drop  or  telescope  it  would  be  equally 
useful  in  the  country.  As  an  all-round,  practical  vehicle  it 
has  much  to  commend  it,  and  with  the  improvements  named 
would  be  welcomed  everywhere  throughout  the  world. 

The  rockaway  (four  or  six  seat),  the  station-wagon,  the 
carryall,  the  surrey  or  beach-wagon  and  others  of  their  ilk 
are  all  thoroughly  characteristic  American  vehicles,  and  from 
their  light  weight,  strength  and  practical  convenience  are 
finding  ready  sales  in  all  foreign  countries.  In  their  wake 
follows  an  almost  endless  variety  of  "things"  of  every  con- 
ceivable shape,  opening  here,  closing  there  and  telescoping 
yonder  ad  infinitum  et  ad  nauseum.  These  nightmares  are 
mostly  "bom  to  blush  unseen,"  however,  and  endure  but 
for  a  spring  season  in  the  appreciation  of  the  inexpert  and 
the  careless. 

No  better  vehicle  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  comfortably 
two  people  has  ever  been  evolved  than  the  American  buggy — 
whether  of  end-spring,  piano-box,  goddard  or  side-spring 
construction ;  nor  is  there  any  better  for  the  toughest  work  than 
the  concord  and  the  democrat  wagon,  of  varying  weights. 
The  side-bar  buggy  was  well  received,  but  "  rode  hard,  "  as  the 
springs  had  little  play.  The  modem  runabout  fails  in  the 
same  particular,  and  the  name  (which  was  patented  with 
the  shape  of  spring)  is  being  wrongly  applied  to  various 
wagons  with  other  arrangements  of  the  under-carriage  and 
the  springs.  Low  wheels  and  rubber  tires,  save  that  they 
perhaps  throw  more  mud  in  rainy  weather  than  the  high,  are 

29 


DRIVING 

deservedly  popular  and  likely  to  endure  in  favour.  As 
American  vehicles,  the  use  of  English  harness,  lashed  whip  and 
other  foreign  accessories  have,  before  such  wagons,  seemed 
singularly  ill-chosen  and  inappropriate.  The  one-man-top- 
road- wagon,  a  marvel  of  strength  and  ease  (if  equipped  with 
end  springs),  has  no  counterpart  on  earth,  and  is  only  exceeded 
in  its  extraordinary  efficiency  by  the  so-called  "matinee"  or 
speed  wagon,  which  will  carry  in  absolute  safety  from  250 
to  300  pounds,  yet  is  made  to  weigh  as  little  as  forty-three 
pounds  complete. 

In  phaetons,  the  ctmibrous  and  lumbering  mail-phaeton 
is  as  extinct  as  the  dodo,  as  is  the  T-cart,  formerly  the  pride 
of  the  jeunesse  doree;  and  the  demi-mail,  the  stanhope  and  the 
spider-phaeton,  light,  graceful  and  smart,  have  amply  filled 
their  places.  It  is  odd  that  we  do  not  welcome  in  this  country 
the  practical  fashion  of  driving  one  horse  instead  of  a  pair 
before  these  vehicles.  We  adopt  it  in  the  brougham  and  the 
victoria,  but  ignore  it  in  the  case  of  these  popular  carriages, 
although  the  ladies,  before  their  beautiful  Peters  or  George 
IV.  phaetons,  or  the  most  attractive  straw-body  morning 
phaetons,  are  proving  to  us  how  sensible  the  custom  is  and 
how  short-sighted  we  are  in  concluding  that  we  must  always 
go  to  the  trouble  and  expense  of  keeping  a  pair  if  we 
contemplate  "setting-up"  a  phaeton  of  any  sort. 

Whether  the  two-  and  four-wheeled  dog-carts  were 
handicapped  by  the  name  or  not  does  not  appear,  but  certainly 
they  have  "  had  their  day."  The  slat-sided  phaeton  and  the 
four-wheeled  dog-cart  still  endure,  but  the  obliteration  of  the 
craze  for  driving  tandem,  despite  the  various  clubs  formed  to 
promote  it,  have  witnessed  the  passing  of  the  tandem  cart  of 
every  shape  and  name,  and  to-day  such  an  outfit  is  rarely 
encountered  save  in  the  show-ring,  where  they  serve  a  useless 

30 


AMERICAN   VEHICLES 

purpose  in  providing  one  or  two  more  methods  of  exhibiting 
the  various  entries.  The  gig  and  tilbury  are,  except  in  the 
same  place,  nearly  as  obsolete,  and  there  is  no  appreciable  rea- 
son for  their  perpetuation,  so  much  more  useful  and  comfort- 
able in  every  way  are  our  four-wheeled  carriages.  The  French 
chaise  has  its  uses  as  a  lady's  equipage,  being  neat,  easily 
entered  and  manageable  by  the  inexpert.  The  "  Kentucky- 
brake  "  cart  is  useful  for  driving  green  or  rough  horses,  or  for 
exercising  purposes,  but  most  uncomfortable  for  the  occupants. 
The  governess  cart,  sacred  to  the  babies  and  the  nurses,  has 
now  a  most  useful  prototype  on  large  lines,  which  is 
astonishingly  useful  and  extremely  smart  in  appearance. 

All  vehicles  are  by  our  English  cousins  arranged  in  two 
classes — the  "sporting"  and  the  "non-sporting"  divisions; 
and  perhaps  this  is  as  handy  a  method  of  differentiation  as 
any — unless  we  further  subdivide  them  into  the  classes: 
"park  or  town,"  "country"  and  "utility." 

In  no  country  is  the  public  blessed  with  every  conceivable 
variety  of  carriage,  in  every  grade  of  excellence  in  workman- 
ship and  at  every  variety  of  price  as  it  is  in  America.  Rich 
or  poor,  we  can  all  be  suited  in  some  fashion  and  at  some 
price;  and  so  thoroughly  is  this  recognised  that,  both  new 
and  as  second-hand,  our  vehicle  output  is  finding  boimdless 
favour  in  every  country  on  the  globe. 


31 


CHAPTER   IV 

STAGE-DRIVING    IN    THE    WEST 

The  charm,  the  difficulties  and  the  dangers  of  Western 
stage-coaching,  and  the  wonderful  feats  of  the  drivers 
employed  therein  have  provided  to  the  novelist  and  the  short- 
story  writer  a  fertile  field  for  descriptive  generalisation ;  but 
never  have  we  as  yet  found  an  enthusiast  who  has  portrayed 
the  scientific  difficulties  of  the  task  and  the  remarkable 
accomplishments  of  the  hard-driving  jehus  of  that  romantic 
country.  Nothing  paralleling  their  feats  is  possible  in  the 
East,  and  the  best  of  our  drivers,  professional  or  amateur, 
would  find  themselves  put  to  it  to  emulate  the  feats  of  their 
Western  brethren.  Over  all  varieties  of  roads,  up  mountains 
and  down  gulches,  by  glaring  daylight  and  through  the  murky 
blackness  of  the  darkest  night,  the  stages  of  the  Occident  kept 
their  time,  year  in  and  year  out;  while  not  only  were  the  cattle 
in  use  of  the  most  miscellaneously  unbroken  sort,  but  they  were 
generally  the  very  scum  of  the  equine  world,  so  far  as  temper 
went;  one  and  all  having  to  be  handled  only  by  the  plain 
snaffle-bit.  The  mere  physical  strain  of  handling  four  or  six 
horses  over  one  stage,  aside  from  the  anxiety  of  keeping 
time  and  retaining  the  vehicle  on  the  road  and  right  side  up, 
was  terrific,  and  when  one  thinks  how  these  drivers  faced 
this  task  day  after  day  for  years,  dodging  Indians  and  road- 
agents  meanwhile,  one  can  but  marvel  at  their  stamina  and 
hardihood. 

To-day  the  omnipresent  railroad  has  usurped  most  of  the 
routes  of  these  old  stages,  but,  as  the  accompanying  pictures 

33 


DRIVING 

display  and  the  article  from  Mr.  Francis  T.  Underbill,  the  well- 
known  amateur  coachman  and  author  will  show,  there  is  still 
much  activity  in  certain  sections  of  California  and  elsewhere. 
Mr.  Underhill's  experience  has  been  most  unique  in  that 
besides  having  driven  public  coaches,  etc.,  for  years  in  the 
East,  he  has  had  opportunity  for  practice  and  observation  over 
the  most  difficult  roads  in  the  West. 

•  •  •  •  •  •  • 

Probably  coaching,  as  practised  in  England  before  the 
railway  days,  has  no  more  enthusiastic  supporter,  no  one  who 
delights  in  seeing  everything  connected  with  the  sport  carried 
on  in  a  workmanlike  manner  throughout,  than  I ;  and  yet  I 
find  a  deal  of  pleasure  in  touching  upon  a  branch  of  driving 
which,  though  in  a  way  analogous  to  coaching,  is  on  such 
widely  different  lines  that  its  mere  mention  generally  brings 
a  sarcastic  smile  to  the  lips  of  a   stereotyped  old  coachman. 

In  order,  therefore,  not  to  incur  the  enmity  of  those  whom 
I  would  like  to  consider  my  confreres  of  the  box,  I  will  refer 
to  my  Western  jehus  as  "drivers."  Let  me  tell  you  it  is  no 
small  thing  to  be  called  a  stage- driver  in  the  unsettled  part 
of  our  mighty  West.  I  don't  mean  the  man  who  drives  a 
ramshackle  vehicle  three  or  four  miles  from  some  railway 
station,  but  the  men  who  drove  such  runs  as  Deadwood, 
Leadville,  and  many  another  long,  dangerous  road.  They 
were  often  heroes  in  their  way  and  always  important  person- 
ages in  their  communities;  for  they  were  in  touch  with  the 
outside  world,  heard  many  topics  discussed,  and  incidentally 
assumed  a  certain  pompousness  and  superiority  of  manner 
which  lent  a  picturesque  charm  to  their  characters.  I  have 
often  thought  that  the  old  English  road-  or  stage-coachmen 
and  the  Western  stage-drivers  bear  a  very  much  closer  relation 
and  resemblance  to  each  other  in  characteristics  than  most 

34 


A  WESTERN  STAGE  ROAD 


STAGE-DRIVING    IN    THE    WEST 

people  realise.  Those  who  delight  in  the  coaching  reminis- 
cences of  such  men  as  Birch  Reynardson  or  Captain  Malet 
would  be  surprised  to  find  many  of  the  stories  told  by  uncouth 
reinsmen  of  the  West  savoured  of  much  the  same  sauce — the 
Western  stories  being  often  more  thrilling  and  realistic. 
The  stage-driver  in  the  first  place  prides  himself  on  an  unruffled 
exterior  under  all  conditions.  He  assumes  that  he  carries 
no  passenger  quite  worthy  of  his  society  and  his  manner  in 
consequence  is  condescending,  and,  if  the  word  can  be  properly 
applied  to  the  type,  somewhat  supercilious,  while  his  language 
at  times  is,  to  say  the  least,  unparliamentary. 

The  type,  however,  is  so  distinct,  so  individual  that  even 
the  casual  observer  is  anxious  to  know  its  origin,  its  raison 
d'etre  so  to  speak.  The  answer  is  simple.  Aside  from  horse- 
manship, the  stage-driver  of  the  prominent  routes  from 
twenty  to  forty  years  ago  was  necessarily  a  trusted  employee ; 
he  was  often  in  sole  charge  of  large  shipments  of  gold  from 
the  mining-camps  as  well  as  of  valuable  express  consignments. 
This  responsibility  absolutely  demanded  a  man  of  unflinching 
nerve  and  of  ready  resource,  for  the  dangers  of  the  road  were 
extreme  in  those  days  of  Indian  outbreaks  and  highway 
robberies.  He,  of  course,  had  to  be  a  master  of  his  trade; 
but,  curiously  enough,  little  of  the  self-importance  assumed 
by  practically  all  the  most  noted  reinsmen  of  the  Far  West 
came  from  conceit  as  to  their  ability  to  drive.  It  came 
rather  from  the  fact  that  they  knew  they  were  trusted  by 
their  employers  and  looked  up  to  by  their  fellow  citizens. 
They  knew  they  earned  both  the  faith  and  the  respect,  and 
they  naturally  took  pride  in  treating  the  matter  with  a  sort 
of  nonchalance  which  by  degrees  became  habitual. 

It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  know  a  number  of  these 
men,  and  I  can  honestly  say,  to  respect  some  of  them.     While 

35 


DRIVING 

they  might  not  have  graced  a  drawing-room,  they  uncon- 
sciously exhibited  quahties  of  true  manHness  and  sometimes 
of  chivalrousness  which  would  have  put  m^any  a  carpet-knight 
to  shame.  Owen  Wister  in  "  The  Virginian  "  draws  quite  a 
clever  pen-picture  of  an  average  stage-driver  of  the  then  time, 
but  there  were  a  few  who  shone  out  as  stars  of  the  first 
magnitude.  In  California  the  names  of  Hank  Monk,  Guy 
Faust,  "  Shotgun  "  Taylor,  Bee  Willis  and  a  score  of  others 
are  familiar  to  every  one  as  truly  dashing  examples  of  the 
craft,  and,  b}^  George !  they  could  drive !  It  is  amusing  to 
hear  our  coachmen,  in  speaking  of  Western  driving,  say,  "  Oh, 
yes;  it  is  very  easy  to  drive  those  six-horse  stages  over 
mountain  passes,  for  their  horses  are  all  well  trained."  I 
would  much  like  to  have  one  of  these  scoffers  sit  beside  such 
a  man  as  I  have  mentioned,  behind  an  almost  unbroken 
team  (for,  by  the  way,  most  of  the  "bad  ones"  are  relegated 
to  the  stage-routes),  driving  over  a  road  which  in  itself  would 
open  the  eyes  of  many  an  old-time  coachman,  and  I  feel  no 
hesitancy  in  saying  that  he  would  be  willing  to  apologise 
like  a  man  for  belittling  a  performance  of  which  he  had  had 
no  conception.  To  turn  for  a  few  moments  to  the  style  of 
driving:  It  is  true  that  "their  ways  are  not  as  our  ways" 
(I  take  great  pleasure  in  voicing  this  quotation  from  either 
side  of  the  fence,  but  in  the  present  instance  apply  it  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  English  school) ;  but  there  are  one  or 
two  false  impressions  which  seem  to  have  obtained — one 
is  that  the  stage-driver  always  holds  his  reins  in  both  hands 
and  cannot  shorten  his  hold  or  take  a  ' '  point ' '  without  raising 
his  hands  up  to  his  head,  on  the  principle  of  the  "  cow-milker,  " 
so  aptly  described  by  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  in  "  Badminton 
Driving."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  method  of  holding  the 
reins — i.  e.,  with  four,  the  near-side  reins  coming  under  and 

36 


w 
< 

1/3 

z 

Pi 

a 

H 

a 


,  1 ' 

-.J 


STAGE-DRIVING    IN    THE   WEST 

over  the  little  finger  of  the  left  hand  and  palmed  upward, 
the  off-side  reins  to  be  readily  taken  at  any  moment  under 
and  over  the  forefinger  and  palmed  downward,  the  lead- 
reins  being  above  the  wheel.  I  do  not  for  a  moment  claim 
this  to  be  graceful,  but  I  am  positive  that  I  could  convince 
almost  any  skeptic  that  it  is  thoroughly  practical  in  its  place. 
The  "points"  and  oppositions  are  much  stronger  and  more 
accurate  than  in  the  English  school  and  every  rein  in  the 
hands  of  an  expert  is  at  all  times  doing  its  work.  It  may 
seem  an  exaggeration,  but  I  have  seen  many  a  dangerous 
reverse  curve  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  which  required  at 
least  a  three-foot  "point"  each  way  and  proportionate 
opposition.  There  are  very,  very  few  who  drive  in  the 
English  school  to-day  who  are  good  enough  to  come  down 
such  a  road  at  a  good  pace. 

Of  course,  the  vehicle,  the  harnessing,  the  roads,  are  all 
so  different  from  what  one  finds  in  older  sections  of  the  coun- 
try that  any  comparison  is  out  of  place.  I  can  only  say 
that  in  my  judgment  the  vehicles  and  the  method  of  har- 
nessing are  thoroughly  practical  and  suited  to  the  country. 

Many  and  many  are  the  tales  told  by  and  of  some  of  these 
doughty  knights  of  the  whip.  Hank  Monk,  who  was  credited 
with  Horace  Greeley's  famous  drive,  was  a  reckless  whip 
and  very  independent.  On  one  occasion  the  proprietor,  who 
was  driving  alone  with  him,  ventured  to  say  that  he  had  had 
many  complaints  of  his  (Monk's)  reckless  driving,  and  cited 
one  or  two  instances  (they  were  at  the  time  about  a  mile 
from  the  change).  After  a  moment's  hesitation.  Hank,  with 
his  usual  drawl,  remarked,  "  Ye  call  them  reckless,  du  ye — 
wal,  here's  what  I  call  reckless  drivin',"  and  with  that  he 
threw  his  six  reins  on  his  horses'  backs  and  cut  the  team  loose, 
as  they  say.     Fortunately,  the  nags  knew  his  voice  and  their 

37 


DRIVING 

stable  and,   aided   by  a  good  brake,  he  was  able  to  avoid 
an  accident. 

Jim  Myers,  one  of  the  old-timers,  made  a  drive  that  was 
quite  celebrated  at  the  time.  It  was  in  the  early  '70s 
and  on  one  of  the  roads  from  the  gold-mines.  His  run  was 
sixty  miles  with  six  changes  of  six  horses,  and  over  a  bad 
mountain  grade.  The  stage  reached  his  station  three  hours 
late,  driven  by  a  hostler — the  driver  having  been  shot  while 
escaping  a  hold-up.  Jim  wired  the  conditions  to  the  rail- 
way station  sixty  miles  away.  The  proprietor  wired,  "  Make 
the  train  with  the  treasure  or  kill  the  stock."  He  had  less 
than  five  hours  to  do  it  in,  but  he  made  his  train.  I  asked 
him  about  it  one  day,  and  he  said  "  Say !  there  was  one  thing 
in  that  ere  drive  that  wasn't  much  fun.  Long  'bout  the 
middle  stage  we  had  a  five-mile  run.  Me  and  Bill  drove  the 
same  team, '  Swing  back, '  and  alius  used  to  make  up  time  on 
'em  'cause  they  was  a  danged  good  team.  Well,  when  I  come 
along  that  day  I  turned  them  nags  loose  and  couldn't  stop 
'em  when  I  come  to  the  change,  so  I  just  slung  the  silk  into 
'em  and  did  the  next  twelve  miles  in  dandy  shape,  though 
they  was  running  plumb  away  for  more'n  three  miles." 

There  is  another  style  of  driving  in  California  and  the  Far 
West  which  has  always  interested  me  greatly,  namely,  driving 
with  a  jerk-line.  This  method  is  used  for  almost  all  heavy 
teaming  where  more  than  six  horses  compose  the  team.  The 
driver  rides  the  near  wheeler  and  guides  the  whole  team,  ex- 
cept the  wheelers,  with  one  rein  which  is  fastened  to  the  bit 
of  the  near  leader.  This  leader  is  taught  to  turn  off  side 
when  the  rein  is  jerked  and  near  side  under  a  steady  pull. 
The  horse  "under  the  rein,"  as  they  term  it,  must  be  a  sensible 
animal  and  his  mate  a  good,  free  horse.  The  guiding  of  the 
wagon  or  wagons,  is  accomplished  by  the  wheelers  on  ordinary 

38 


1 

*   - 


'4 


'S. 


STAGE-DRIVING    IN    THE    WEST 

roads,  and  on  bad  roads  they  are  aided  by  the  pointers — i.  e., 
the  pair  in  front  of  the  pole  are  taught  to  step  over  the 
draft-chain  and  keep  the  pole  out  on  sharp,  binding  turns. 
My  head  teamster,  Richard  Holland,  two  years  ago  took 
a  twelve-ton  boiler  up  a  long,  circuitous  and  narrow  grade 
with  twenty-four  horses,  which  he  handled  with  the  one 
rein.  The  work  is  in  a  class  by  itself,  but  in  my  opinion 
shows  quite  unusual  horsemanship  and  is  most  imique. 


39 


CHAPTER  V 

ROAD-COACHING 

Although  the  witchery  of  this  fascinating  sport  is  well 
recognised  by  all  that  growing  class  of  Americans  who  take 
interest  in  outdoor  amusements  and  exercise,  the  prevail- 
ing idea  that  it  is  of  necessity  extremely  expensive  deters  not 
a  few  from  undertaking  it;  and  until  recently  the  general 
conditions  of  the  roads  adjacent  to  localities  suitable  for  the 
enterprise  have  not  been  such  as  is  essential  to  its  enjoy- 
ment under  the  best  auspices,  for  it  must  be  confessed  that 
jolting  ruts  and  a  cloud  of  dust  form  a  most  dolorous  accom- 
paniment to  a  journey,  especially  if  the  voyager  must 
occupy  a  seat  on  the  "backgammon,"  or  beside  the  guard, 
where  these  objectionable  features  are  always  most  noticeable. 

The  idea  that  the  pastime  must  of  necessity  prove 
expensive  is  due  to  the  fact  that  through  foolish  purchases 
of  horses,  careless  management,  indifferent  patronage,  etc., 
such  has  generally  been  the  outcome,  a  result  having 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  results  of  road-coaching 
in  the  abstract,  but  much  in  the  individual  case. 

That  a  road-coach  is  likely  to  make  huge  profits  or  to  earn 
any  considerable  dividends  no  one  for  a  moment  claims; 
nor  should  this  eternal  mercenary  aspect  ever  be  considered 
— although,  alas !  it  is  generally  the  standard  by  which  all 
sports  are  gauged,  and  by  which  they  stand  or  fall.  A  coach 
should  be  managed  like  any  other  undertaking,  and  the 
mere  economies  of  outfit,  etc.,  are  but  an  item.  The  genuine 
essentials  so  far  as  the  public  goes  are  that  a  good,  smart 

41 


DRIVING 

pace  shall  be  continued  all  the  way;  that  the  coach,  etc., 
shall  be  thoroughly  "well  done"  in  every  slightest  detail; 
that  the  destination  shall  prove  attractive  to  the  outer,  and 
the  service  and  luncheon  satisfactory  to  the  inner,  man.  A 
deficiency  in  any  one  of  these  respects  certainly  will  cause 
unpopularity.  Much  depends  upon  the  owner's  ability  as  a 
business  manager,  and  as  a  caterer  to  the  pleasures  and  tastes 
of  others,  how  large  his  deficit  may  be.  He  must,  to  be  suc- 
cessful, submit  to  a  good  deal  of  unpleasant  newspaper 
notoriety;  he  must  boom  his  coach  as  he  would  his  wine  if 
he  were  a  wine  agent;  he  must  bargain  for  an  equivalent 
percentage  for  the  trade  he  brings  to  both  ends  of  the  route; 
he  must  be  hail  fellow  with  all  and  sundry,  however  per- 
sonally distasteful,  for  the  mere  climbing  to  the  box,  driving 
out  and  home,  and  stalking  away  as  soon  as  he  pulls  up 
will  never  popularise  his  undertaking;  nor  will  the  fact 
that  he  runs  to  the  most  attractive  private  club  in  the  country 
make  up  for  the  fact  that  he  does  so  patronise  a  private  and 
not  a  public  building,  where  necessarily  his  passengers 
cannot  be  afforded  the  full  run  of  the  premises.  Nothing 
is  more  unpleasant  for  the  average  voyager  than  the  realisa- 
tion or  sensation  that  he  is  a  guest  only  on  toleration  and 
not  by  right,  and  that  his  privileges  extend  to  narrow  limits 
only.  This  is  a  feature  of  the  public  coach  which  most 
proprietors  fail  to  understand ;  and  they  do  not  appreciate — 
as  they,  probably  being  members,  laugh  and  talk  with  their 
friends  at  lunch  in  this  club — how  extremely  uncomfortable 
are  the  outsiders  who  have  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  take 
passage  upon  a  vehicle  which  they  find  too  late  is  "  public  " 
in  name  only,  and  genuinely  such  in  no  particular;  nor  can 
any  inducements  coax  them  to  repeat  the  experience.  If 
a  public  resort,  as  a  hotel,  etc.,  is  the  destination,  the  coach - 

42 


ROAD  -  COACHING 

man  should  see  that  the  soUds  and  fluids  served  at  lunch  are 
of  the  very  best  and  plentiful  in  quantity ;  for  the  well-fed 
are  easily  pleased,  while  a  "cold  bottle"  removes  not  only 
the  taste  of  the  roadside  dust,  but  its  memory  also.  Do  not 
then,  for  pity's  sake,  incense  your  patrons  by  jig-jogging 
them  over  the  roads  at  seven  miles  an  hour,  a  little  slower 
than  your  own  dust  clouds,  providing  them  with  a  lunch 
where  what  should  be  hot  is  cold,  the  cold  warm,  and  all 
unappetising  and  ill-served;  or  keep  them  dawdling  about 
the  semi-private  club  for  two  hours,  until  you  have  a  nap  or  a 
turn  over  the  golf-links,  thence  jogging  them^  home  again, 
and  then   resent  their  abjuring  a  road-coach  forever  more. 

Rates  on  a  coach  are  generally  absurdly  high,  and  such 
an  outing  for  two  people — as  a  man  and  his  wife — effectually 
spoils  a  twenty-dollar  bill.  "What  of  it?"  say  you;  "those 
are  not  the  sort  of  people  we  cater  to."  Yet  they  are  if  you 
run  a  bona  fide  public  coach,  as  the  public  will  prove  and  gen- 
erally do  prove,  by  leaving  you  and  your  road  severely  alone. 

Everything  from  the  box-seat  to  the  usually  indifferent 
lunch  costs  patrons  at  least  twice  too  much,  and  public 
coaching  can  never  flourish  and  never  be  such  in  reality  so 
long  as  this  is  the  case. 

But  to  proceed  to  details.  Once  your  route  is  chosen  it 
is  time  to  get  together  your  horses,  coach,  etc.  New  coaches 
will  cost  about  $2,500;  very  excellent  second-hand  vehicles 
may  be  had  for  from  $700  to  $1,200  and  are  in  many  ways 
preferable — as  already  proved  strong  and  able  and  as  being 
cheaper.  If  one  of  these  is  bought,  have  it  overhauled  to 
the  last  nut  and  bolt;  fresh  painted  and  lettered,  and  smart- 
ened in  every  way  as  to  upholstery,  etc.  Harness  should 
be  bought  new,  unless  one  can  find  a  chance  to  purchase  a 
lot  of  good  second-hand  material  that  is  all  alike ;  for  nothing 

43 


DRIVING 

looks  worse  nor  more  pettily  economical  than  to  see  the  style 
of  harness  varying  on  the  different  teams.  New  harness 
will  cost  about  $150  for  good,  strong,  plain  sets,  and  less  if 
six  or  eight  sets  are  taken;  this  including  bits,  etc.  Collars 
should  be  made  for  each  individual  horse,  always  straight, 
thick  padded  and  fitting  very  snug,  as  shoulders  and  necks 
will  surely  shrink;  a  horse's  collar,  bridle  and  bit  should 
be  his  individually:  numbered  with  his  number  and  accom- 
panying him  in  all  his  changes  of  teams,  etc.  Blankets, 
sponges,  bandages,  tools,  etc.,  should  all  be  wholesaled,  and 
stabling  with  or  without  feed  be  contracted  for  with  care. 

The  eternal  question  of  satisfactory  servants,  of  course, 
will  give  trouble  always,  as  it  is  very  difficult,  in  the  first 
place,  to  find  good  men  out  of  work,  and,  in  the  second,  to 
keep  them  steady  in  a  job  which  they  know  offers  no  future, 
and  will  last  at  best  only  a  few  weeks.  What  wonder  if  they 
make  all  they  can  out  of  it — wouldn't  you,  honestly  now, 
do  the  same  yourself?  Never  trust  any  of  them,  nor  your 
head  man  either,  if  you  are  foolish  enough  to  go  to  the  expense 
of  having  one,  which  gives  you  one  more  to  watch.  Your 
only  safeguard  is  to  "keep  them  guessing"  by  dropping  in 
on  them  at  all  sorts  of  odd  times,  day  and  night,  nor,  if  you 
are  unwilling  to  take  this  trouble,  can  you  expect,  nor  should 
you  attempt,  to  run  a  public  coach  without  the  certainty  of 
facing  a  heavy  deficit,  and  a  thin  and  worn-out  stud. 

For  purchasing  your  horses  you  may  adopt  three  different 
systems:  You  may  go  direct  to  the  country  and  breeding 
districts;  you  may  wholesale  them  from  one  of  the  big  firms 
which  do  business  East  and  West ;  or  you  may  pick  them  up 
one  at  a  time  as  encountered  at  the  sales  stables  and  auction 
marts,  and  along  the  highways  and  byways  of  your  city;  or 
you  may  combine  the  three  methods.     Of  them  all,  the  last 

44 


ROAD-COACHING 

will  afford  the  greatest  satisfaction.  If  you  go  buying  in 
the  country,  notice  of  your  coming  precedes  you,  and  values 
are  put  up  to  correspond  with  your  gullibility,  or  supposed 
means,  nor  are  such  purchases  likely  to  be  satisfactory  in 
condition,  mouths  or  manners — and  a  long  preliminary 
period  of  seasoning  to  get  them  ready  for  work  adds  heavily  to 
expenses,  and  more  than  offsets  the  imaginary  advantages  of 
buying  them  first  hand  and  at  country  rates.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  the  second,  or  wholesale,  fashion,  although 
here  bodily  condition  will  generally  be  good.  By  the  last, 
however,  you  have  every  advantage  in  getting  seasoned, 
city- wise  and  way- wise  animals,  or  at  least  those  partially 
"  made,"  and  all  ready  for  work.  The  possible  from  $25  to  $50 
more  per  head  which  you  pay  is  a  bagatelle  if  you  consider 
your  own  travelling  expenses,  freight  or  express  charges 
and  keep,  veterinary  bills,  etc.,  which  the  purchase  of  green 
country  horses  will  make  imperative. 

Whether  you  select  horses  all  about  of  a  size  and  shape  so 
that  any  two  make  a  fair  pair,  or  whether  you  invest  in  the 
thick,  sturdy  wheelers  or  the  rangy,  lighter-built  leaders  which 
fashion  dictates,  is  for  you  to  choose.  Certainly,  however,  the 
first  system  has  all  the  practical  advantages.  If  any  two 
make  a  pair  the  lot  are  vastly  more  usable  and  salable;  five 
horses  at  a  change  will  do  as  much  as  six  (or  even  nine) — 
(as  three  wheelers  and  three  leaders)  to  work  turn  about, 
each  having  his  day  off  every  fourth  day.  If  all  of  a  size, 
they  may  work  off  sidcj  nigh  side,  lead  or  wheel;  or  any 
horse  may  change  individually  to  any  team.  This  cannot 
be  managed  in  any  other  way,  and  anyhow  no  one  will  remark 
upon  the  uniformity  of  size  except  that,  at  the  changes,  some 
hypercritical  passenger  may  comment  upon  it,  and  he  may 
be  silenced  by  finding  the  town  team  of  the  conventional 

45 


DRIVING 

difference  in  shape.  Some  people  again  prefer  leaders  taller 
than  wheelers,  and  they  do,  from  the  coach  top,  look  better 
if  thus  arranged.  As  a  general  thing,  however,  the  leaders 
are  about  an  inch  less  tall  than  the  wheelers,  but  there  is 
every  advantage  in  unifoiTQ  size. 

Be  make  and  shape  what  it  will,  none  should  be  too  tall; 
sixteen  hands  is  large  enough  for  anything;  fifteen- two 
or- three,  better  yet.  Those  huge  brutes  over  sixteen 
hands  are  cold-blooded,  and  prove  it  on  a  hot  day  or  over  a 
long  stage.  The  theory  that  size  is  strength ;  that  a  six  teen- 
hand  horse  can  do  what  one  two  inches  smaller  cannot;  that 
our  modern  roads  and  loads  compel  any  such  size  and  height 
before  a  coach;  that  pace  and  condition  can  be  maintained  in 
our  climate  with  these  big  hulking  beggars — are  all  sheerest 
fallacy.  And,  for  another  thing,  these  big  horses  are  hard  to 
find,  expensive  to  buy  and  almost  impossible  to  sell  easily. 
Cast  aside  all  tradition  and  imaginary  English  requirements 
culled  from  old  prints  (generally  sadly  out  of  drawing)  and 
let  common  sense  prevail  on  you  not  to  go  to  extremes  in 
height  or  in  any  other  feature  of  coaching. 

A  public  coach-horse  has  been  pithily  and  aptly  described 
as  "an  unfortunate  animal  which  has  seen  an  uncommonly 
large  amount  of  grief  in  an  unusually  short  space  of  time" 
and  it  is  regrettable  that  the  description  so  accurately  fits 
the  subject.  An  ex-public  coach-horse  is  good  for  precious 
little  but  a  general- purpose  wagon  of  some  sort.  He  will  (if  he 
has  been  the  slow  horse  of  his  team)  hop,  skip,  hobble  and 
gallop;  he  will  charge  his  hills  at  full  speed,  and  come  down 
the  last  part  of  them  flying;  he  generally  has  a  one-sided 
mouth;  and  is  sure  to  be  hitting  his  poor  legs  somewhere,  or 
everywhere.  Whatever  you  give  for  him,  he  is  desperately 
dear  at  the  price ;  therefore  the  moral  is  obvious ! 

46 


ROAD-COACHING 

Imprimis,  your  neophyte  must  go  a  good  pace  at  the  trot, 
and  move  freely  and  clear  all  round.  Never  trust  one  that 
wings  or  dishes,  for  he  will  surely  interfere  somewhere  when 
tired.  He  must  be  bold-fronted,  bridle  well,  be  short-coupled, 
and  well  sprung  as  to  ribs,  rounded  as  to  hips,  or  he  will  fade 
in  condition ;  must  have  fair  bone,  good  feet,  shoulders,  eyes 
and  wind;  have  a  well-turned  deep  quarter,  and  carry  a  nice 
tail;  and  be  thick  through  everywhere  in  proportion  to  his 
height,  to  meet,  to  follow  and  to  side-view.  Any  colour  is 
suitable  but  yellow  bay,  but  not  too  many  fancy  colours,  or 
flash-marked  legs  and  faces,  for  the  economical  reason  that 
they  are  bad  sellers.  Mares  are  as  good  as  geldings  and 
better.  A  ruined  mare  has  some  value  for  breeding  purposes. 
Pair  them  off,  if  you  would  drive  them  comfortably,  by 
mouths  and  manners  rather  than  by  exact  appearance;  by 
length  rather  than  by  height,  for  a  long  rangy-finished  horse, 
and  a  short-necked  one  rarely  make  a  nice  driving  pair,  and 
one  or  other  must  pull  unless  the  couplings,  etc.,  are  very 
nicely  adjusted,  while  the  short  horse  is  over-driven,  as 
seeming  to  be  constantly  behind  his  partner  (this  applies 
especially  to  wheel-horses). 

Do  not  imagine  that  it  takes  weeks  of  preliminary  condi- 
tioning to  get  coach-horses  ready.  Nothing  can  be  more 
absurd.  Naturally  they  must  not  be  right  off  grass,  but 
equally  certainly  the  ordinary  stage  of  say  seven  miles  at  a 
ten-mile  average  pace  is  not  going  to  harm  any  of  them,  if 
properly  driven  and  cooled  out.  Sweat  he  may,  shrink  he 
must,  for  a  week  or  two,  but  what  of  it?  He  is  but  getting 
rid  of  useless  tissue.  Horse-shows  have  educated  in  us  a 
"  false  eye  "  in  the  matter  of  condition,  and  we  strive  to  keep 
horses  far  too  fleshy,  and  imagine  that  if  they  grow  thin  they 
cannot  work  ably;  the  angular   lines  of  a  horse  in  real  con- 

47 


DRIVING 

dition  are  not  attractive,  but  that  is  immaterial.  Naturally 
if  you  sweat  and  thoroughly  exhaust  half-bred  or  cold- 
blooded horses  twice  a  day  six  days  a  week,  they  will  show 
it  very  plainly;  but,  as  is  customary,  the  "  long  middle  ground," 
which  two  teams  work  over  only  once  daily,  will  help  this  if 
each  team  on  the  road  is  in  turn  changed  to  it  for  a  couple 
of  weeks. 

This  changing  about,  not  only  of  teams  but  of  indi- 
vidual horses,  greatly  assists  in  keeping  up  the  driver's 
interest,  as  practically  furnishing  endless  new  combinations 
— another  advantage  of  having  all  animals  about  the  same 
size  and  height.  Horses  are  very  cunning,  and  after  a  few 
weeks  of  the  same  ground  the  only  incidents  of  the  run  are 
that  your  wheelers  invariably  try  to  "cut  comers"  and 
afford  you,  if  an  "opposition  loop"  maniac,  ample  oppor- 
tunity for  practise.  Otherwise  one  may  as  well  drive  a 
hack,  or  a  'bus,  so  far  as  excitement  goes. 

Horses  should  be  shod  as  lightly,  snugly  and  plainly 
as  possible.  If  you  try  tips  (except  possibly  on  the  town 
team)  you  will  like  them,  and  never  have  an  overreach,  speedy 
cut  interference,  etc.  Horses  should  never  be  changed 
directly  at  the  stables,  but  a  mile  away  or  thereabouts.  This 
will  make  the  grooms  find  fault,  perhaps,  but  they  will  do 
that  over  something  anyhow.  Changed  at  this  distance 
they  get  well  cooled  walking  to  the  stable,  and  land  there 
about  tranquil  as  to  respiration  and  circulation.  If  the 
heart  and  lungs  are  normal  on  arrival,  little  harm  can  come  to 
horses  in  hard  condition  for  having  to  wait  their  turn  for 
thorough  cooling;  but  if  a  "red-hot"  team  changes  directly 
at  its  stables,  damage  will,  not  improbably,  sooner  or  later 
be  done. 

Human  nature  is  what  it  is,  and  two  grooms  left  to  their 

48 


-5     ^-"-^r-w 


ROAD-COACHING 

own  resources  (and  possibly  not  agreeing  very  cordially) 
can  ruin  by  their  carelessness  a  horse  or  two  in  short  order. 
The  fresh  team  also  is  vastly  helped  by  this  preliminary 
walk;  their  circulation  is  put  in  order  for  use,  and  they  are 
otherwise  "readied"  for  immediate  fast  work.  This  is  a 
most  important  detail,  and  has  direct  bearing  on  condition. 
Shoulders  and  backs  should  always  be  well  sponged  with 
cold  water  under  collar  and  pad  places  that  the  pores  of  the 
skin  may  be  closed  at  once. 

There  is  everything  in  picking  your  road;  not  only  as 
concerns  ascents  and  declivities,  "cheating  them  out  of 
the  hill,"  etc.,  but  in  choosing  the  best  of  the  going: 
evading  soft  spots,  letting  your  leaders  do  plenty  of  work 
at  a  stony  bit ;  favouring  them  at  a  breakwater,  so  that  the 
pole  shall  not  thrash  and  jerk  each  horse  in  turn ;  straddling 
all  ruts  that  good  footing  may  be  had;  easing  them  nicely 
out  of  car-tracks  so  that  one  or  the  other  wheel-horse  does 
not  have  the  whole  coach  for  a  moment  to  strain  at ;  pulling 
up,  if  possible,  so  that  advantage  is  taken  of  any  little  declivity 
and  the  coach  starts  that  much  more  easily,  etc. — dozens 
of  things  that  a  genuine  coachman  will  notice  and  avail  his 
team  of,  just  as  he  will  regulate  chafing  crown-pieces, 
tight  girths,  wrong  coupling  and  bitting,  short-pole  chains, 
uneven  or  too  long  traces,  blinkers  too  close,  etc. 

Another  thing  he  will  do,  although  if  you  will  ask  him  he 
will  vehemently  deny  it:  he  will  ease  one  horse  after 
another,  as  the  stage  grows  long,  and  they  begin  to  hang, 
just  for  a  stride  or  two,  to  get  a  few  good,  full  breaths  and 
"take  a  fresh  grip"  as  it  were.  Once  a  poorly  bred  horse 
begins  to  tell  you  by  lots  of  signs  that  he  has  had  enough,  it 
is  "up  to  you,"  if  worthy  the  name  of  coachman,  to  "nurse 
him   home,"    and   this   demands   all   your   skill,    attention, 

49 


DRIVING 

knowledge  and  "horse  sense."  Of  course, you  can  go  slow — 
for  after  all  there  is  no  real  reason  why  you  should  observe 
your  time-table — but  as  it  is  part  of  the  game  to  "  keep  time," 
one  should  strive  to  do  it.  Any  one  can  manage  it  with  a 
fresh  team,  but  if  you  can  do  it  with  a  dead-beat  or  a  sick 
horse,  and  not  overwork  the  other  three,  you  are  pretty  nearly 
an  artist,  "opposition  loop"  or  no,  and  can  do  what  ninety 
per  cent,  never  learn  or  try  to  understand. 

Speaking  of  keeping  time,  of  course  you  will  start  always 
to  the  second,  the  guard  calling  "  coach  !  "  about  five  minutes 
beforehand,  which  gives  you  time  to  load,  mount  your  box 
and  be  ready  about  a  minute  ahead  of  time.  Some  amateurs 
are  very  careless  in  this  respect,  and  it,  of  course,  makes  no 
real  difference,  save  that  punctuality  is  part  of  the  "colour- 
scheme"  of  the  whole  high-comedy  performance. 

It  is  inevitable  that  if  your  coach  runs  during  the  exhaust- 
ing weather  of  the  summer  season  you  must,  if  horses  are  to 
retain  their  flesh  and  courage,  have  recourse  to  powerful 
tonics  and  drugs.  This  is  supposing  that  you  mean  to  always 
keep  your  time,  despite  heat,  and  that  you  are  bent  on  doing 
so  with  your  original  number  of  horses.  Of  course,  if  one 
can  hire  whole  teams,  or  odd  horses  as  needed,  and  have  one's 
coach  always  overhorsed,  one  will  pull  through ;  but  no  coach- 
horse  of  the  average  breeding  will  work  his  season  out  in  hot 
weather  without  artificial  treatment,  and  to  this  end  quinine 
and  the  much  abused,  because  misunderstood,  arsenic  are 
indicated.  These  powerful  tonics,  given  in  the  food  daily, 
will  create  an  appetite  and  insure  bodily  condition  that 
will  be  proof  against  any  severity  of  work,  and,  properly 
tapered  off  at  each  end,  no  after  ill  effects  are  possible.  Thus 
either  the  sixty-grain  quinine  solution  or  Fowler's  solution 
of  arsenic  (or  both  mixed)  given — a  tablespoonfiil  in  the  feed 

50 


ROAD-COACHING 

once  daily  for  one  week,  then  two  tablespoonfuls  daily  for 
two  weeks,  then  one  for  one  week,  then  omit — will  give  great 
satisfaction  not  only  to  horses,  but  to  the  owner  as  well. 
If,  in  addition,  the  animals  are  induced  to  drink  deeply  and 
often,  by  natural  or  artificial  means,  their  provender  will  do 
them  all  the  more  good — and  they  must  drink  to  thrive. 

Legs  and  feet  will  need  attention  after  the  first  few  days 
or  weeks,  and  more  or  less  bandaging,  particularly  of  the  hind 
legs,  will  be  necessary.  Showering  of  water  from  a  hose  held 
at  a  distance  will  afford  a  beneficial  shock  and  cause  the 
vessels  to  contract;  and  as  the  horses  are  not  meant  for 
extended  use  it  does  not  much  matter  if  they  are  bandaged 
tightly,  since  the  evils  of  the  practice  will  not  become  too 
evident  before  their  passing  on  to  other  ownerships.  It 
may  be  said  here,  however,  that  there  is  no  stable  practice 
less  understood,  more  abused  or  more  directly  detrimental 
to  duration  of  reasonable  soundness  than  this  generally 
absurd  performance  of  indiscriminate  bandaging. 

Coach-horses  when  off  duty  should  be  kept  as  quiet  as 
are  race-horses  and  every  inducement  offered  them  to  rest 
and  recuperate.  As  low-bred  creatures  they  will  respond 
to  nursing,  and  their  idle  hours  should  not  be  disturbed, 
but  quiet  be  preserved.  Their  consequent  spirit  and  con- 
dition will  greatly  improve,  and  this  is  one  of  the  many 
neglected  trifles  which  have  all  to  do  with  pleasure  in  driving 
and  satisfaction  in  undertaking  such  an  enterprise. 

Horses  must  be  kept  naturally,  and  the  uncalled-for 
blanketing  which  is  so  fashionable,  be  sternly  tabooed. 
Cool  them  thoroughly  and  leave  them  stripped  except  in  the 
face  of  sudden  change  of  temperature  or  if  flies  are  very 
annoying  (although  a  darkened  stable  and  the  use  of  any  of 
the  familiar  preparations  so  distasteftil  to  insects  will  mitigate 

SI 


DRIVING 

this  trouble).  Get  air  in  plenty,  day  and  night,  even  if  you 
have  to  smash  all  the  windows  and  the  door  panels  with  an 
ax;  and  don't  allow  a  groom  to  tell  you  what  is  best  for  horses, 
any  more  than  you  would  regard  his  tip  on  the  Wall  Street 
market — his  knowledge  is  as  valuable  in  the  one  case  as  in 
the  other.  Get  them  all  the  fresh  air  you  can — and  then  try 
to  get  a  little  more — and  believe  that  horses  in  hard  condition 
will  bear,  and  are  the  better  for,  exposure  that  is  generally 
regarded  as  destructive. 

Never  fail  to  have  their  mouths  overhauled  by  a  thor- 
oughly competent  dentist,  that  all  sharp  edges,  "wolf  teeth," 
etc.,  may  be  attended  to.  Your  comfort  in  driving  and  theirs 
in  eating  and  digesting  depend  greatly  on  this. 

What  then  is  the  approximate  cost  of  runnmg  a  road 
coach  per  month,  including,  for  example,  four  teams  and  their 
substitutes  (five  horses  being  regarded  as  a  team)  ?  The 
usual  month's  account  would  be  about  as  follows: 

Keep  20  horses  @  $1  per  day $600 

Shoeing 50 

Man  @  $50,  boy  @  $20,  to  each  team 280 

Extra  man  on  coach  @  $50 50 

Guard  @  $60 60 

Repairs  and  incidentals 50 

$1,090 

This  contemplates  keeping  the  animals  at  livery.  The  man 
and  boy  (or  two  men  if  no  boy  is  kept)  may  accompany  their 
horses  to  and  fro  over  each  stage,  riding  inside  the  coach, 
and  that  is  probably  the  best  way,  as  by  it  the  men  accom- 
pany their  own  horses  at  all  times.  Otherwise  an  extra  man 
carried  inside  the  whole  distance  (who  may  be  the  town 
man)  helps  at  changes,  etc.  Expenses  may  be  lessened  if 
stalls  are  hired  and  food  bought,  provided  the  promotor  is  a 
good  "shopper."     If  a  superintendent  is  employed  his  salary 

52 


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o 

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^  t-M 


ROAD-COACHING 

will  be  about  $75  per  month;  and  a  "cock-horse"  boy,  if  one 
is  kept,  will  demand  about  $20  per  month;  and  will  be  em- 
ployed on  the  horses  at  some  change.  Shoeing  expenses 
will  be  very  much  less  if  "tips"  only  are  used,  and  many 
economies  can  be  practised  if  the  owner  is  prepared  to  actively 
supervise. 

Although  it  can  hardly  be  classed  as  a  road-coach,  the 
establishment  locally  of  what  may  be  called  a  "neighbour- 
hood-coach "  has  in  it  all  the  elements  of  good  sport,  and  of 
furnishing  to  many  friends,  etc.,  the  delights  of  such  outings. 
The  vehicle  and  harness  should  be  bought  by  subscription — 
the  coach  at  about  $700,  the  harness  at  probably  $150 — 
since  second-hand  articles  are  plenty  good  enough,  and  the 
whole  should  be  neat  and  unpretentious.  Either  four  horses 
may  be  bought,  or,  preferably,  the  neighbourhood  may  con- 
tribute various  and  sundry  pairs  and  single  animals  to  make 
up  the  four;  it  being  arranged  that  such  contributions  offset 
the  subscriptions  necessary  to  the  purchase  of  the  vehicle, 
etc.  Thus  say  six  or  seven  persons  could  be  furnished,  one 
day  per  week,  with  a  coach  and  four,  the  drives,  of  course,  to 
be  limited  to  a  certain  distance,  and  it  being  agreed  that  any 
one  going  farther  must  provide  his  own  horses.  About 
$1,200  for  the  original  outfit,  horses  and  all,  and  $4  per  day 
for  keep  and  a  small  sum  for  shoeing,  etc.,  will  afford  the 
subscribers  weekly  drives  at  really  trifling  individual  outlay. 


S3 


CHAPTER  VI 

DRIVING    FOR   NOVICES 

Like  Mr.  Piinch's  advice  to  those  about  to  marry,  this 
chapter  must  perforce  be  replete  with  "  Don'ts,"  but  it  seems 
difficult  to  offer  hints  to  the  neophyte  without  warning  him 
more  against  the  sins  of  commission  than  those  of  omission. 

Oddly  enough,  for  learning  to  drive  there  is  nothing  like 
driving,  and  the  himible  brick-cart  and  grocer- wagon  offered 
opportunities  in  childhood's  times  (if  we  made  ourselves 
"  solid  "  with  the  charioteers)  which  we  were  foolish  to  over- 
look. Lacking  this  juvenile  experience  (which  would,  in 
the  natural  order  of  things,  put  us  in  line  for  a  finishing 
course  under  capable  instruction)  we  should  neglect  no 
opportunity,  if  possessed  with  the  sacra  fames  of  the  truly 
ambitions,  to  essay  the  navigation  of  any  and  every  variety 
of  "gee-gee"  singly  and  in  varying  combination  which 
kindly  chance  or  intelligent  intention  places  in  our  path; 
heeding  not  the  jibes  and  jeers  of  the  carping  critic,  and  as 
absorptive  as  sponges  of  every  word  of  advice  and  act  of 
demonstration  which  ears  and  eyes  can  compass.  The 
careful  study  of  the  methods  of  a  "real  workman" — not 
only  what  he  does  but  especially  what  he  avoids  doing — will 
prove  vastly  helpful,  and  if  we  can  but  find  in  such  a  one  a 
patient  and  kindly  mentor,  there  are,  given  ordinary  nerve, 
common  sense,  "horse  sense"  and  perseverance,  no  heights 
which  we  may  not  successfully  attempt. 

As  dear  old  Lord  Dundreary  used  to  say,  "  If  you  had 
a  sister,  would  she  like  flowers  ? "     And  in  the  same  irrelevant 

55 


DRIVING 

manner,  may  it  be  asked  if  you  play  the  piano,  or  any  musical 
instrument.  For  if  you  do,  your  pathway  will  be  greatly 
eased.  Such  an  accomplishment  presupposes  a  delicacy  of 
touch,  an  intuitive  perception  of  resistance  and  force,  an 
artistic  appreciation  which  will  prove  enormously  helpful  to 
you  in  your  efforts.  As  an  old  riding-master  used  despairingly 
to  remark  to  his  lady  pupils:  "  Mon  Dieu,  madam,  you  play 
ze  piano  !  *  Well  ?  Yes  ?  And  how  many  year  you  practise 
for  play  heem  well?  Five?  And  you  will  I  teach  you  to 
ride  parjaitement  in  twenty  lesson — twenty  hour — one  day? 
Ah,  zees  Americans !  Ze  horse's  mouth  is  far  more  difficult 
for  learn  to  play  zan  ze  piano ! "  It  is  for  the  reason  that 
most  women  are  musicians  that  horses  go  quietly  with  them ; 
their  gentle  manipulation  and  their  non- aggressiveness  assist 
mutual  understanding  and  good-will.  A  woman  lets  the 
animal  perform  his  task  in  most  respects  after  his  own  fashion ; 
the  domineering  and  frequently  ignorant  masculine  insists 
upon  it  that  his  shall  be  the  method  pursued — results  speak 
for  themselves. 

Have  no  preference  as  to  mouths,  manners  and  all  the 
rest — or  at  least  do  not  indulge  them.  The  best  practice 
comes  from  driving  all  kinds  and  plenty  of  different  varieties. 
Your  one  particular  steed  teaches  you  nothing;  he  puts  up 
with  your  follies,  you  learn  his  foibles,  and,  like  most  joint- 
stock  concerns,  neither  of  you  prosper  as  you  would  under 
the  stimulus  of  novelty  and  competition.  The  novice  would 
better  hire  a  different  horse  every  day  than  to  buy  one  and 
stick  to  him  for  years,  deceived  into  the  idea  that  holding 
the  reins  and  merely  keeping  off  the  sidewalks  and  out  of 
the  shop  windows  is  really  driving. 

One  cannot  drive  without  sitting  down,  and  that  position 
should  from  the  first  be  correct,  easy  and  firm.     Sit  squarely 

56 


DRIVING    FOR    NOVICES 

down  on  your  seat  or  cushion;  not  on  the  end  of  your  spine, 
with  your  feet  stuck  far  out  in  front,  as  if  rowing  a  boat,  but 
upright,  and  with  the  legs  forming  an  angle  at  the  base  of 
the  spine,  which  will  make  you,  for  comfort's  sake,  hollow 
your  back;  and  which  position  in  turn  will  give  you  a  "feel" 
to  wrist,  forearm  and  hand  which  you  .never  knew  before. 
That  is  the  one  excuse  for  the  criminally  hazardous  position 
of  late  so  fashionable — the  "  monkey-on-a-stick "  attitude, 
with  the  heels  back  against  the  seat-fall,  the  knees  and  centre 
of  gravity  far  in  advance  of  them,  and  the  end  of  the  spine 
balanced  on  the  edge  of  the  cushion.  It  does  give  you  a  light, 
springy  "feel,"  but  this  comes  from  the  necessarily  upright 
carriage  and  hollow  waist,  and  not  at  all  from  the  otherwise 
eccentric  attitude. 

The  reins  are  held  in  the  left  hand,  the  left  or  nigh  rein 
coming  over  the  first  finger  and  thence  through  the  palm, 
the  right  or  off  rein  coming  between  the  second  and  third 
fingers,  thence  through  the  palm,  thus  separating  the  reins  by 
the  width  of  two  fingers  and  enabling  quite  a  wide  change  in 
direction  to  be  made  by  merely  turning  the  hand  and  wrist. 

The  left  hand,  which  holds  the  reins,  should,  if  the  horse 
is  properly  bitted  and  mouthed,  be  carried  half-way  across 
the  body,  and  the  wrist  a  trifle  bent  outward.  This  affords 
an  easy  "give-and-take,"  and  although  the  straight  forearm, 
wrist  and  hand  may  afford  more  power  on  a  hard-mouthed 
horse,  that  position  is  not  so  good  for  the  acquirement  and 
retention  of  a  delicate  toiich.  Naturally  at  first  you  will  be 
at  a  loss  to  do  this  comfortably ;  and  of  course  you  will  always 
be  guided  by  circumstances  in  your  attitude  and  resistance; 
but  practice  will  soon  make  it  easy  for  you  and  perfectly 
automatic.  The  elbows  should  lie  close  to  the  sides,  falling 
naturally,  and  not  squared. 

57 


DRIVING 

Do  not  tug  at  a  horse's  mouth,  but  always  drive  as  if 
any  sudden  pull  or  sharp  jerk  might  break  the  reins.  How- 
ever dtill  he  may  be,  always  have  enough  feeling  of  the  bit 
to  have  him  under  control,  and  keep  him  up  to  it  to  that 
extent.  At  any  hole,  gutter  or  sudden  elevation  be  sure 
your  hand  and  arm  freely  "follow"  his  mouth,  and  do  not 
let  them  administer  a  sudden  jerk  to  it  as  the  vehicle  drops 
or  rises.  When  starting,  just  feel  your  steed's  mouth  an 
instant  before  you  start,  as  a  signal  to  him  that  you  are 
about  to  require  of  him  motion,  and  this  should  be  done 
whether  you  mean  to  go  forward  or  backward;  it  enables 
him  to  tighten  his  muscles  and  collect  himself,  physically 
and  mentally,  to  obey  your  instructions.  Prepare  him  for 
stopping,  or  for  turning,  or  for  increasing  or  diminishing  his 
pace  in  the  same  manner.  He  will  appreciate  your  attention 
and  respond  in  kind,  be  sure  of  that. 

Relax  the  muscles,  not  only  of  the  wrist  and  forearm, 
but  of  the  whole  body.  You  may  argue  that  if  you  do  so 
you  w411  lose  control  of  your  horse;  but  not  so,  for  even  as 
you  thus  allow  your  frame  and  touch  to  become  pliant,  so 
apparently  does  he,  and  this  mutual  abandonment  of  stiff 
and  awkward  resistance  cannot  be  too  carefully  cultivated. 
If  you  ordinarily  feel  tired  after  driving  your  horse,  how 
much  more  must  that  nervous  strain  and  insensible  resistance 
exhaust  and  annoy  him,  who  has  also  the  actual  physical 
labour  to  perform.     Be  natural,  easy,  pliant  and  effortless. 

The  same  remarks  hold  good  in  driving  two,  four  or  more 
— but  never  attempt  them  in  reverse  order  or  you  will  inevi- 
tably spoil  forever  your  "hand"  and  lightness  of  touch;  and 
do  not  essay  any  advance  until  you  can  handle  one  horse 
really  well — in  a  way  that  thoroughly  satisfies  you.  Of 
course,  you  will  find  plenty  to  learn  even  if  you  drive  all  day 

58 


DRIVING    FOR    NOVICES 

and  every  day  for  a  century,  but  never  be  satisfied  with 
mediocrity.  Nothing  is  to  be  speedily  and  thoroughly 
learned  from  perfectly  trained  anirnals;  therefore  take  them 
as  they  come,  and  be  sure  they  change  frequently.  Especially 
is  this  true  of  pairs,  fours,  etc.,  where  the  lazy  and  the  free, 
the  cowardly  and  the  bold,  the  generous  and  the  rascally 
may  all  blend  to  your  eternal  advantage. 

Keep  your  whip-hand  free  usually,  but  close  to  your  left 
hand,  and,  if  occasion  demands,  take  a  rein  in  each  hand;  but 
keep  them  close  together  and  near  your  body.  This  is 
necessary  with  many  bad-mouthed  and  awkward  horses,  and 
is  not  at  all  unworkmanlike — nothing  is  which  quietly  and 
perfectly  accomplishes  your  object.  Do  not  get  the  idea 
that  "light  hands"  means  barely  touching  a  horse's  mouth. 
Needs  vary,  and  he  has  the  finest  "hands"  who  makes  his 
horse  perform  promptly,  gracefully  and  at  ease  to  himself 
the  task  set  him.  This  quality  may  be  roughly  defined  as 
"  the  instinctive  knowledge  of  just  when,  and  in  what  degree, 
to  properly  apply,  increase  or  relax  restraint,"  and  it  is 
evident  that,  this  being  the  case,  an  animal's  mouth  may 
sometimes  be  handled  very  roughly  and  yet  "good  hands" 
be  strongly  in  evidence. 

Always  signal  with  your  whip  when  pulling  up  or  starting 
off,  and  which  wa}^  you  are  about  to  turn,  whether  in  traffic 
or  in  the  desert  of  Sahara.  It  safeguards  the  general  public 
as  w^ell  as  yourself  and  is  an  important  feature  in  the  greatly 
neglected  courtesy  of  the  road. 

The  reins  are  never  to  be  shortened  by  taking  hold  of 
them  with  the  right  hand  behind  the  left,  as  is  the  general 
custom,  but  always  by  placing  the  right  hand  in  advance, 
and  either  by  sliding  the  left  up  to  it  or,  preferably,  by 
pushing  the  reins  back  through  the  relaxed  left  fingers.     It 

59 


DRIVING 

is  often  advisable,  just  at  starting,  to  take  a  rein  in  each 
hand  as  tending  to  better  manipulate  a  mouth  which  may 
be  strange  to  you  and  you  to  it.  This  does  not  necessarily 
mean  letting  go  of  the  right  rein  with  the  left  hand,  however. 
The  right  hand  is  not  to  take  the  rein  between  the  first  and 
second  finger,  but  outside  the  little  finger,  grasping  it  in  the 
little,  third  and  second  fingers,  and  doing  this  with  an  "  over- 
hand" motion  or  clutch,  easily  learned  from  observation. 
To  turn  to  the  right,  then,  this  "overhand"  motion  places 
your  named  fingers  on  the  right  rein  a  few  inches  in  advance 
of  the  left,  and  your  turn  is  made  without  suffering  the  rein 
to  slip  at  all  through  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand.  To  turn 
to  the  left,  your  right  hand  in  the  same  fashion  takes  the 
left  rein  and  draws  it  back  toward  and  over  the  left  hand. 
As  expertness  increases  you  will,  when  making  these  curves, 
loop  the  rein  over  the  first  finger  of  the  left  (if  turning  to  the 
left),  confining  it  by  pressure  of  the  thumb,  taking  up  what 
you  judge  will  be  sufficient  slack  to  effect  your  purpose;  and 
in  the  same  way  for  a  right  turn  you  will  make  your  loop 
between  the  second  and  third  fingers  of  the  left  hand,  in  all 
cases  suffering  the  loop  to  slide  away  when  facing  satisfactorily 
your  new  direction.  You  will  finally,  when  driving  a  well- 
bitted  horse,  effect  this  by  carrying  the  wrist  and  forearm 
across  the  body  to  the  right  and  turning  the  knuckles  up 
(to  make  a  left  turn) ;  carrying  the  hand  out  to  the  left  and 
down  beside  the  thigh,  and  turning  the  knuckles  down  (to  go 
to  the  right).  The  left  fingers  close  on  a  sort  of  graduated 
scale  and  are  not  all  equally  tense,  the  first  serving  rather 
as  a  support  to  the  reins  and  the  grasp  coming  from  the  other 
three.  Large,  loose  and  long-fingered  gloves  should  always 
be  worn,  loose  at  wrist  as  well,  and  they  should  be  regularly 
treated  with  glove-paste  or  resin  to  make  them  adhesive. 

60 


DRIVING    FOR    NOVICES 

When  a  horse  is  standing  never  tighten  his  reins  or  move 
his  bit;  he  always  regards  this  as  a  signal  to  start.  Your 
whip  should  be  held  gracefully  up  and  diagonally  across  the 
body,  grasping  it  at  whatever  point  it  seems  to  balance  best, 
and  you  should  never  use  it  with  a  "flicking"  motion,  as  if 
you  meant  to  snap  it  on  the  horse's  hide,  but  with  a  drawing 
stroke,  diagonal  and  well  before  the  hips  (or  he  may  kick) 
or  even  the  pad.  A  dullard  will  respond  to  a  stroke  under 
the  shaft,  on  the  thin  skin  of  the  thigh,  or  to  a  blow  down 
the  shoulder  or  under  forearm.  Do  not  be  eternally  tapping 
him — nothing  makes  him  so  surely  sluggish.  Hit  him  for  a 
reason  only,  and  hit  him  smartly  when  you  have  to  do  so. 

If  you  must  speak  to  him,  use  the  "  c'lk,"  and  not  that 
p-w-e-e-p  of  the  lips  which  is  suggestive  of  a  dicky-bird. 
Enforce  prompt  response  to  any  word  you  do  use,  if  it  is 
disregarded,  with  the  whip.  He  associates  the  two  signals, 
or  should  do  so. 

Learn  to  shut  your  hands  on  the  reins  and  keep  them 
where  you  close  them  without  their  always  sliding  through 
and  needing  shortening  at  critical  times.  Practise  incessantly 
until  this  becomes  automatic  and  you  will  make  an  advance 
which  not  one  person  in  a  hundred  ever  accomplishes. 

Pick  your  road  carefully  and  constantly,  not  by  abrupt 
turns,  but  by  always  having  an  eye  forward  for  the  good 
spots  and  for  obstructions,  and  quietly  availing  yourself  of 
the  one,  evading  the  other. 

Go  over  the  brow  of  a  hill  quietly  and  give  and  take  to 
your  horse  as  he  bends  to  your  restraint.  Never  give  before 
he  does,  but  always  reward  his  submission  by  instantly 
dropping  your  hand  a  shade,  easing  him,  shifting  the  bit's 
resting  place  and  beginning  anew — an  infinitesimal  yielding 
is  enough,  and  this  is  "hands"  in  its  best  development. 

6i 


DRIVING 

Pace,  and  the  best  methods  to  judge  and  preserve  it, 
is  all  a  matter  of  practise,  and  an  expert  will  steal  away  the 
miles  in  an  effortless  way  both  to  himself  and  to  his  steed  that 
is  a  treat  to  watch  and  a  science  to  acquire.  Do  not  suffer 
your  animal  when  at  a  walk  to  wander  aimlessly  along,  but 
"drive"  him  at  that  gait  as  at  all  others,  making  him  do  his 
work  properly  and  promptly.  The  worst  performer  is 
susceptible  of  great  improvement  if  you  will  only  take  the 
trouble  to  educate  him. 

A  four-wheeled  vehicle  is  better  than  a  two-wheeler 
for  every  reason,  and  the  horse  is  not  so  apt  to  fall,  to 
kick  or  to  misbehave  in  such  a  carriage.  It  is  harder  to 
turn  round,  or  to  back,  and  more  instructive  for  that. 
You  should  practise  turning  it  round  in  real  or  imaginary 
narrow  lanes,  both  by  driving  round  and  by  "backing  and 
filling,"  until  instinctively  you  know  just  when  and  how 
the  act  is  feasible. 

You  should  harness  your  horse  yourself  as  to  all  his 
paraphernalia,  and  acquaint  yourself  thoroughly  with  the 
use  and  purpose  of  every  strap  and  buckle  in  every  kind  of 
harness,  single,  double  and  four-in-hand.  Take  a  harness 
all  to  pieces  and  put  it  together  again  repeatedly  until  you 
"know  of  your  own  knowledge"  just  how  everything  goes. 
Not  one  driver  in  five  hundred  can  do  this,  but  there  is  no 
excuse  for  ignorance,  and  proper  pride  in  your  enterprise 
should  compel  you  to  rehearse  this  thoroughly.  Absorb  all 
available  information  about  every  detail  of  equipment  and 
its  fit  by  observation,  by  inquiry  and  by  reading,  thus 
not  only  promoting  your  own  practical  knowledge  and 
personal  enjoyment,  but  guaranteeing  to  the  travelling 
public  that  by  no  careless  or  ignorant  act  of  yours  shall 
its  safety  be  jeopardised. 

62 


CONCORD  WAGON 


PNEUMATIC  ROAD-WAGON  WITH  SHIFTING  TOP 


MATINEE  OR  SPEEDING  WAGON 


CHAPTER  VII 

DRIVING      ONE     HORSE 

So  MUCH  has  been  written  of  the  driving  of  a  single 
animal  in  the  chapter  on  "Driving  for  Novices"  that  but 
little  remains  to  be  said  upon  the  matter  here  save  in  the 
general  direction  of  putting  to,  etc.  Much  that  will  appear 
in  the  chapters  on  driving  two  and  four  will  apply  also  to 
the  driving  of  one  horse ;  in  fact,  the  one  is  but  a  rehearsal 
for  the  more  complicated  performance  of  the  other. 

To  be  first- class  in  single  harness  an  animal  should  bridle 
well,  carry  an  arched  neck  and  possess  a  flexible  mouth  and 
good  courage.  A  slug,  a  hard-mouthed  horse  or  a  nervous, 
excitable  one  may  answer  in  a  pair  or  a  team,  but,  as  the 
"power  before  the  throne,"  the  beast  for  single  harness 
should  be  well  mannered  and  well  balanced. 

His  harness  should  be  appropriate  in  size  ana  shape 
to  the  vehicle  and  to  himself,  and  all  three  should  be 
proportionate.  Nothing  savours  more  of  the  ignoramus  or 
the  vulgarian  than  noticeable  discrepancies  in  these  respects, 
and  this  harmony  is  one  of  the  essentials — almost  the  only 
requisite — of  perfect  appointment.  If  we  strive  for  elegance 
of  effect  in  our  own  apparel,  so  also  must  our  horse's 
"clothes"  fit  him  to  a  ^nicety,  and  all  equipment  be  in 
keeping  with  this  idea.  In  fact,  if  Fortune  allows,  every 
horse  should  have  his  own  harness,  or  at  least  his  own 
bridle  and  collar,  as  contributing  vastly  to  his  comfort, 
and  this  should  fit  him  like  a  glove. 

Many  bridles  are  too  short  in  the  brow-band  and  pinch 

63 


DRIVING 

the  horse  about  the  ears;  the  bUnkers  are  too  close  for  some, 
flare  too  much  for  others.  The  harness  pads  do  not  fit  every 
back  ahke.  The  girths  are  often  too  long  or  the  straps  them- 
selves too  narrow.  The  collar  should  fit  exactly,  very  snugly 
at  first,  if  the  horse  is  in  good  flesh,  as  it  will  work  easier 
with  usage,  and,  if  he  shrinks,  will  still  fit  fairly  well.  In 
fitting  the  collar  attention  should  always  be  paid  to  existing 
bodily  conditions.  The  back  strap  must  always  be  rather 
loose,  not  strained  tightly  from  the  pad  to  the  dock,  but 
lying  slack  along  the  backbone.  Nothing  will  more  surely 
make  a  horse  kick  than  a  tight  crupper,  especially  since  we 
have  now  usurped  the  place  of  the  breeching  by  the  use  of 
the  tugs  for  holding  back  the  load — and,  by  the  way,  always 
be  sure  before  starting  that  the  loop  of  the  tug  is  before  the 
stop  on  the  shaft  and  the  shaft-girth  at  its  proper  tension. 
Be  certain  also  that  the  shafts  are  amply  wide  and  long,  and 
that  the  traces  are  a  proper  length — neither  too  long,  as  being 
too  far  away  from  the  load;  nor  too  short,  as  endangering 
the  occupants,  if  the  hocks  should  touch  the  vehicle.  Rather 
thin  reins  are  the  most  comfortable,  and  they  should  be  cut 
from  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  quarter  in  width. 

What  the  rudder  is  to  the  ship  the  bit  is  to  the  horse, 
and  his  preferences  must  be  carefully  consulted  by  experiment. 
Whatever  form  and  size  suits  him  best  is  the  "proper" 
article.  We  are  all  prone  to  do  too  much  with  the  curb-chain 
and  not  enough  with  the  nose-band.  By  this  is  meant  that 
we  allow  an  animal  to  dodge  the  effect  of  the  bit  by  opening 
his  mouth,  or  as  some  rogues  will,  by  using  the  teeth  or  the 
lips  to  prevent  the  bit's  action.  For  this  reason  the  "  elbow  " 
bit  is  the  most  useful  of  arrangements.  As  generally  made, 
the  nose-band  is  merely  an  ornament  to  a  bridle,  and  fails 
by  many  holes  of  buckling  tight  enough  to  firmly  shut  the 

64 


DRIVING    ONE    HORSE 

mouth.  It  was,  however,  invented  to  effect  just  that  purpose, 
and  should  be  so  used.  The  animal  who  pulls  when  driven 
at  the  middle  or  lower  bar  will  frequently  go  pleasantly  at 
cheek  or  half -cheek,  once  he  finds  that  by  properly  applying 
the  nose-band  he  cannot  dodge  the  issue.  The  results  are 
far  less  painful  to  him,  while  he  at  once  improves  in  "mouth 
and  manners" — two  accomplishments  which  are  usually 
correlative. 

The  use  of  the  curb-chain  is  generally  misunderstood, 
and  much  agony  is  inflicted  by  its  ignorant  abuse.  Many 
horses  go  more  pleasantly  if  it  is — at  least,  over  the  sharp 
edges  of  the  jaw-bones — covered  with  leather  or  chamois- 
skin.  A  tight  chain  is  rarely  useful,  and  by  impeding  circula- 
tion it  deadens  sensation,  only  making  a  bad  matter  worse. 
On  the  contrary,  if  too  slack  and  the  horse  very  limber  of 
neck,  it  loses  all  effect  by  his  dropping  his  chin  to  his  chest, 
and  thereby  changing  the  whole  angle  of  draft  to  the  top 
of  his  own  head  and  not  to  his  mouth  at  all — that  is,  if 
the  bearing-rein  be  omitted,  as  nowadays  it  frequently  is. 
A  twisted  chain  is  very  severe,  and  rarely  needful  if  the  nose- 
band is  appropriately  used.  The  port  bit  is  never  called  for, 
and  is  a  most  brutal  machine.  The  four-ringed  snaffle  is  a 
very  useful  article  and  suits  all  mouths.  If  bits  are  too 
wide,  circular  cheek-pieces  of  heavy  leather  should  be  placed 
on  the  mouth-piece.  The  gag-check  is,  within  limits,  a  very 
useful  appliance.  Many  horses  will  not  drive  pleasantly 
without  it,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  much-abused 
and  misunderstood  "bristle-burr,"  a  perfectly  harmless 
means  of  control  on  certain  headstrong,  plunging  brutes 
with  one-sided  mouths.  That  it  is  comfortable  no  one  argues 
— that  it  is  cruel  any  horseman  will  deny  and  disprove. 
If  one  of  the  two,  in  this  connection,  must  be  uncomfortable, 

65 


DRIVING 

let  it  be  the  horse,  and  by  no  means  the  person  whose  pleasure 
or  duty  it  is  to  use  him;  especially  as  the  mere  fact  that  the 
animal  is  thus  inconvenienced  may,  properly  managed,  effect 
partial  or  complete  reformation.  Barbados  aloes  applied 
to  gnawed  finger-tips  or  sucked  thumbs  is  not  especially 
enjoyable  to  the  infantile  delinquent  whose  vagaries  render 
such  correction  necessary — but  the  result  is  effectual — or 
used  to  be  forty  years  ago ! 

Conventionality  enters  largely  into  all  our  methods, 
and  driving  is  by  no  means  exempt  from  this  characteristic. 
Fortunately  our  accepted  fashions  are  in  this  respect  mostly 
founded  upon  practicality  and  good  sense,  but  there  are 
various  departures  from  "  correct  form, "  so-called,  which  are 
equally  as  serviceable  and  in  some  ways  possibly  more  so. 

Reins  should  invariably  be  pliable — not  too  wide — about 
an  inch  or  a  trifle  over  being  the  usual  width — and  the  gloves 
should  always  be  well  dressed  with  resin,  or  the  glove-paste 
manufactured  for  the  purpose;  the  gloves  themselves  being 
always  very  loose  and  at  least  a  size  too  large. 

It  is  a  fact  that  in  most  of  our  driving  maneuvers  we 
expect  too  immediate  compliance  from  our  signals  to  our 
horses'  mouths ;  that  we  indicate  to  them  our  desires  too  late 
in  making  our  turns  or  in  pulling  up.  The  horse  possesses 
a  complicated  anatomical  structure,  and  instant  compliance 
is  not  always  possible  to  him.  Thus  it  is  always  more  difficult 
to  pull  sharply  up  in  the  middle  of  the  road  than  at  the  curb- 
stone; harder  to  make  a  quick  turn  in  an  unobstructed  space 
than  around  a  comer,  whose  neighbourhood  has  warned  our 
observant  steed  that  a  change  of  direction  was  at  least  possible, 
as  the  propinquity  of  the  sidewalk  has  had  the  effect  on  our 
horse  of  preparing  it  for  a  stop.  Your  smart  performer  will 
be  seen  to  "  take  hold  "  of  his  horses'  mouths  some  moments 

66 


DRIVING  ONE   HORSE 

before  he  makes  his  stop;  and  even  if  the  demand  upon  his 
skill  is  sudden  he  does  not  pull  up  his  team  with  one  steady 
dead  haul,  but  takes  a  sharp  hold  for  a  second,  eases  away- 
like  a  flash,  and  "  comes  again  "  once  or  twice — effecting  his 
purpose  by  repeated  signals,  but  so  deftly  and  consecutively, 
almost  or  quite  unconsciously,  that  his  animals  are  prepared 
for  the  final  effort  and  brace  themselves  for  it,  hocks  under, 
balance  back  and  forelegs  out.  Probably  such  a  coachman 
would  deny  these  methods,  not  being  himself  aware  of  them, 
but  he  uses  them — and  he  does  something  else.  The  moment 
his  trained  hand  detects  yielding  and  compliance  he  eases 
away  and  "drops  to  them,"  so  that  they  comfortably  and 
quietly  do  his  bidding.  This  very  thing  he  also  does  in 
starting  and  in  turning — his  signals  always  preceding  the 
actual  call  for  effort  or  change  of  direction.  Such  a  man 
will  mount  his  seat,  sit  perfectly  still,  never  speak  a  word  to 
his  horse,  yet  at  the  moment  he  desires  his  animal  moves 
quickly  and  collectedly  off  with  its  load.  Why?  and  how? 
Because  the  subtly  delicate  telegraph  has  signalled  for 
preparation  and  finally  for  motion — yet  all  so  quietly  and 
unconsciously  that  the  watcher  will  hardly  detect  a  movement 
in  the  bits,  or  an  extra  wrinkle  in  the  mouth- angles.  This  is 
the  quintessence  of  coachmanship,  the  essence  of  "hands" — 
and  all  horses,  be  they  ever  so  raw  and  rough,  will  work 
their  hearts  out  for  such  a  man ;  yet  his  lips  will  never  move, 
his  whip  be  rarely  used,  and  all  bittings  and  couplings  suit 
him  and  them. 

It  is  over  these  all-important  details  that  we  have  never 
yet  wasted  printers'  ink;  while  volumes  and  pages  have  been 
exhausted  in  discussing  this  and  that  rule-of-thumb  method 
of  competent  reinsmanship.  The  matter  of  merely  holding 
the  reins — of  secondary  or  tertiary  importance — has  absorbed 

67 


DRIVING 

our  attention  to  the  utter  neglect  of  the  vital  essentials;  and 
no  teacher  has  ever  called  attention,  save  in  a  casual  way,  to 
the  important  details  which  are,  after  all,  so  entirely  a  matter 
of  practice,  of  individual  ability  and  of  personal  magnetism 
and  "  horse  sense."  The  writer  has  seen  the  late  Mr.  Frederick 
Bronson,  beyond  doubt  one  of  the  finest  road-coachmen 
America  has  ever  known,  when  going  fourteen  miles  an 
hour,  make  an  apparently  instantaneous  turn  into  a  street 
he  had  nearly  passed — so  that  his  leaders  were  nearly  opposite 
the  further  sidewalk — when  suddenly  informed  that  "  this  is 
the  street" ;  yet  although  the  team  did  not  know  the  way  and 
were  utterly  unprepared,  this  wonderfully  good  coachman 
found  the  time,  almost  between  strides,  to  "give  them  the 
office "  ere  he  made  the  beautifully  symmetrical  and  exact 
curve  that  took  him  promptly  into  his  proper  road,  every 
horse  in  place  and  no  effort  on  either  side  apparent.  This 
sort  of  work  is  "driving"  in  its  best  development,  and  few 
indeed  are  the  men  capable  of  advancing  to  its  perfection,  or 
willing  to  take  the  trouble  to  try. 

Reins  are  generally  held  in  the  left  hand,  divided  by 
the  first  and  second  fingers;  the  right  hand  being  kept  close 
to  the  left  and  ready  for  use  in  various  ways  at  a  moment's 
notice.  While  reins  are  generally  held  in  this  fashion,  how- 
ever, there  is  a  growing  fashion  noticeable  of  holding  the 
reins  in  two  hands,  especially  at  starting.  In  this  case  the 
right  rein  is  seized  by  the  little  and  third  fingers,  and  the 
rein  goes  up  through  the  full  hand  and  over  the  thumb. 
Thus  the  two  hands  being  still  kept  close  together,  the  rein 
is  readily  returned  to  the  left  at  any  instant — as  when  using 
the  whip  with  the  right — and  the  driver  is  what  nature 
intended  him  to  be,  ambidextrous  in  this  as  in  other  con- 
nection.    Diagonal  changes  of  direction  need  no  assistance 

68 


DRIVING   ONE   HORSE 

from  the  right  hand,  but  if  turning  to  the  left  the  hand  is 
dropped  beside  the  left  thigh,  the  knuckles  up  and  the  thumb 
toward  the  body ;  if  to  the  right  the  same  motion  is  used,  but 
the  knuckles  are  turned  down  and  the  thumb  forward. 

In  sharper  turns  to  the  right  and  left  the  appropriate 
rein  is  seized  by  the  same  fingers  of  the  right  hand  at  a 
distance  from  the  left  sufficient  to  insure  the  desired  angle 
and  the  rein  drawn  back  toward  the  body,  looped  if  preferred 
over  the  first  finger  of  the  left  hand  as  in  looping  the  lead- 
reins  in  four-in-hand  driving;  and  this  is  done  always  with 
the  wrist  and  forearm,  the  elbows  never  moving  from  their 
easy,  natural  position  close  to  the  sides.  Complete  circles  are 
made  in  the  same  way,  both  in  driving  one  or  a  pair,  and  the 
handling  of  the  reins  generally  is  identical  in  the  two  cases. 
Not  a  few  novices  think  that  they  are  safer  if  driving  two- 
wheeled  vehicles,  or  those  that  cut  under,  if  four-wheeled. 
It  is  true  that  these  vehicles  turn  more  easily,  but  this  advan- 
tage is  slight,  and  it  is  much  better  to  learn  to  handle  carriages 
of  ordinary  shape  rather  than  of  any  special  construction. 
Any  ordinary  street,  road  or  lane  is  wide  enough  nowadays 
to  easily  turn  the  average  vehicle. 


69 


CHAPTER  VIII 

DRIVING     A     PAIR 

A  PAIR  of  horses  is  not  merely  two  animals  attached  to 
the  same  vehicle  and  guided  by  the  same  reins.  A  pair  must 
be  that  in  all  the  name  implies:  in  size,  shape,  colour  (same, 
or  appropriately  contrasting,  or  cross-matched),  action, 
disposition,  mouths  and  manners;  and  the  putting  together 
of  a  first-class  combination  of  this  sort  is  a  work  of  time  and 
skill.  They  must  be  of  similar  speed  at  all  variety  of  paces, 
and  must  "  step  and  go  "  together.  One  that  is  inclined  to  go 
stiff  kneed  and  one  that  folds  them  cleanly,  one  that  drags 
his  hocks  stiffly  and  one  that  flexes  them  boldly,  one  sluggard 
and  one  free  horse,  will  never  make  a  satisfactory  pair,  be  they 
physically  ever  so  much  alike.  Variations  in  height,  weight 
or  colour  are  far  preferable  to  difference  in  style,  action  or 
speed;  while  for  lasting  pleasure,  mouths  and  dispositions 
must  be  nearly  identical,  or  all  the  previous  labour  of  selection 
goes  for  naught. 

If  one  would  match  a  horse  already  on  hand,  plenty 
of  deliberation  must  be  used.  It  is  not  enough  that  the 
two  drive  alike  up  and  down  the  block  and  round  the  park. 
Fatigue  may  affect  them  differently,  and  one  entirely  outlast 
the  other  in  an  hour's  drive.  Your  eye  must  be  educated  to 
appreciate  the  changes  in  development  which  condition  may 
effect,  and  to  anticipate  the  conformation  which  the  thin 
horse  may  show  when  fattened,  or  the  dealer's  gross  "  market 
horse"  when  shrunk  to  workaday  proportions.  Some  men 
have   an   extraordinary   faculty   of   "carrying  in   the   eye" 

71 


DRIVING 

horses  which  they  wish  to  mate,  and  are  able  to  select 
suitable  partners  at  any  time  and  place,  and  almost  at  a 
glance.  This  is  a  precious  natural  gift,  and  not  one  man  ix. 
ten  thousand  possesses  it — but  that  one  can  turn  the  accom- 
plishment into  a  bountiful  equivalent  in  hard  cash. 

Solid  colours  are  preferable  for  all  heavy-harness  purposes. 
The  grays  and  roans  shed  hairs  which  are  very  noticeable  on 
dark  clothes  (although  such  horses  will  be  less  objectionable 
if  carefully  wiped  over  with  resined  hands  before  going 
out  in  order  to  remove  all  hairs  that  chance  to  be  loose). 
White  markings  are,  if  very  liberal  in  extent,  generally 
objected  to,  as  not  quite  so  "genteel"  as  the  solid  colours, 
although  this  objection  hardly  applies  to  any  but  brougham, 
landau  and  victoria  horses,  or  to  those  intended  for  ladies' 
use. 

Once  obtained,  your  pair  will  never  prove  satisfactory 
imless  properly  "put  to"  and  "put  together" — nor,  after  all 
these  preliminaries,  unless  capably  driven.  The  art  of 
"putting  together"  horses  is  acquired  only  by  experience, 
and  not  then  if  "horse  sense"  be  lacking.  The  trouble 
with  us  all  in  such  connections  is  that  we  do  not  do  as  well 
as  we  can,  even  after  we  learn  how.  We  realise  that  the 
alteration  of  a  coupling,  the  dropping  of  a  bit,  the  change  of 
a  hole  in  the  traces  will  make  the  bays,  which  are  a  little  at 
odds  to-day,  work  pleasantly  together,  but  it  is  too  much 
trouble  to  make  the  alterations,  and  we  finish  our  drive,  after 
an  uncomfortable  experience,  to  the  relief  of  all  hands. 
We  are  not  justified  for  our  negligence,  and  well  we  know  it; 
yet  next  time  very  probably  we  shall  repeat  the  offense — 
it  is  such  both  to  our  animals  and  to  ourselves. 

Horses  vary  in  disposition  from  day  to  day,  and  what 
suits  them  on  one  occasion  will  by  no  means  answer  on 

72 


DRIVING  A  PAIR 

another;  nor  will  the  same  combinations  always  prove  satis- 
factory throughout  a  drive.  Of  cotirse  one  may  go  to  absurd 
lengths  in  such  details,  and  one  amateur  jehu  always  carried 
a  bag  of  various  bits,  chains,  burrs,  gags,  etc.,  and  would 
not  infrequently  make  changes  in  his  bitting  several  times 
during  a  drive  of  a  few  hours. 

Pair-horse  harness  should  fit  as  snugly  as  that  for  the 
single  horse,  and  all  parts  must  be  in  their  right  place.  The 
most  common  faults  in  arranging  it  are  the  placing  of  the 
pads  too  far  forward;  leaving  the  breastplates  too  long,  and 
wearing  them  only  on  the  kidney-link  wires  instead  of  buckled 
securely  round  collars,  hames,  etc.,  as  they  should  be  for 
safety,  if  not  for  "correct  appointment's"  sake.  For  the 
same  reason  the  pole-pieces  should  go  round  the  collars  and 
through  the  kidney  link  rings,  and  not  through  that  ring  alone. 
Frightful  accidents  have  followed  the  omission  of  thus  safe- 
guarding the  hames-strap  on  the  top  of  the  collar,  which  has 
otherwise  to  support  the  weight  of  the  vehicle  and  the  strains 
it  may  be  subject  to  from  plunging  horses,  etc.  If  one  will 
but  consider  this  little  strap  and  its  tiny  buckle,  with  a  tongue 
no  larger  than  a  match — a  mere  bit  of  wire — it  is  safe  to  say 
that  ordinary  prudence  will  make  him  disregard  "  correctness  " 
to  the  extent  of  insuring  safety  by  including  the  collar- 
throats  in  embrace  of  the  pole-pieces. 

Checks  of  some  kind,  even  if  horses  carry  their  heads 
alike,  are  a  necessity  in  pair-horse  driving.  During  cessation 
from  travel,  and  especially  in  warm  weather,  flies  seek  the 
damp  places  about  the  animal's  ears  and  eyes,  and  the 
irritation  causes  him — as  fashion  has  removed  the  hairs  in 
his  ears  and  shortened  that  of  his  mane  and  foretop  to  absurd 
proportions — to  seek  relief  by  rubbing  his  head  against  the 
crab    or   his   mate.     Off   comes   the   loosely   throat-latched 

73 


DRIVING 

bridle,  and  away  we  all  go  in  a  most  elaborate  runaway. , 
Or  he  may  catch  his  bit  in  the  same  way  on  the  pole-end  and 
run  back  into  a  crowd  or  rear  and  throw  himself. 

Horses  are  never  to  be  poled  up  tightly  and  need  a 
certain  amount  of  liberty  to  use  themselves  properly.  The 
inside  trace  should  be  a  hole  shorter  than  the  outside,  unless: 
the  outer  roller-bolt  is  the  larger  and  unless  the  animals  are 
coupled  far  apart,  as  when  driven  on  a  yoke,  and  not  on  a 
"  set "  pole  with  a  crab.  The  angle  of  the  traces  must  follow 
that  of  the  coupling- reins,  and  freedom  in  one  respect  should 
not  accompany  restraint  in  the  other.  To  work  and  to  drive 
to  the  best  advantage  they  should  always  be  as  near  their 
load  as  possible. 

The  nose-band,  as  in  single-horse  driving,  must  be 
depended  upon  for  best  results  in  bitting  more  than  the  curb- 
chain,  and  the  arrangements  of  straps,  nets,  etc.,  described 
in  the  chapter  on  "  Four-in-hand  Driving "  will  prove  most 
useful,  if  pullers  are  to  be  combated.  The  couplings  must 
be  just  right,  and  the  low-headed  horse  imdemeath,  which 
saves  boundless  irritation  to  his  better-proportioned  partner. 
This  is  contrary  to  custom,  but  should  not  be  so,  as  any 
practice  which  punished  the  innocent  is  wrong  in  principle. 
Horses  vary  greatly  in  length,  and  a  long-necked  or  long- 
bodied  horse  must  be  allowed  for  in  such  arrangements,  as 
also  for  that  one  which  is  very  limber  of  neck  and  drops 
away  from  his  bit. 

The  same  processes  as  to  starting,  stopping  and  turning 
apply  to  pair  as  to  single-horse  driving.  The  only  difference- 
in  the  art  is  to  keep  both  animals  at  their  work  and  not  allow 
them  to  do  it  by  spells  and  unevenly.  In  light  harness  the 
whiffletrees  and  evener  afford  a  guide  as  to  which  horse  is 
loafing,  but  when  working   off  the  roller-bolts,  as  in  heavy 

74 


DRIVING   A  PAIR 

harness,  no  such  indication  is  afforded,  and  one  must  be 
guided  by  the  "  feel "  of  the  vehicle,  by  the  hand  and  by  the 
appearance  of  the  traces  and  reins.  Comers  must  be  turned 
with  both  horses  in  their  collars,  and  the  inside  animal  is 
never  to  be  allowed  to  drag  his  partner,  or  the  outside  horse 
to  push  his  mate  and  the  carriage  round  them  by  main  force. 
Horses  should  frequently  be  changed  about,  if  sizes  will 
allow,  and  should  work  as  freely  on  one  side  of  the  pole  as 
the  other.  This  helps  to  keep  their  mouths  fresh  and  even, 
and  their  legs  clean,  for  if  one  works  always  in  the  same  place, 
is  poled  up  and  coupled  close,  as  is  customary  in  city  work 
— because  of  increasing  the  handiness  of  the  pair  in  heavy 
traffic — he  is  sure  to  adopt  a  triangular  way  of  going,  and,  if 
he  "  goes  close  "  naturally,  to  begin  to  hit  himself  somewhere 
and  to  form  a  one-sided  mouth.  If  one  is  inclined  to  be 
timid,  and  to  shy  or  sheer  away  from  passing  objects,  he 
should  be  put  on  the  off  side,  as  being  thus  in  a  more  protected 
and  less  disconcerting  position. 


75 


CHAPTER   IX 

TANDEM     DRIVING 

The  writer  must,  imprimis,  frankly  confess  that  there  is 
no  earthly  excuse  for  writing  this  chapter,  since  there  is  no 
possible  reason  for,  and  no  real  utility  in,  the  use  of  a  tandem 
at  all.  It  combines  all  the  dangers,  trials  and  inconveniences 
of  every  other  style  with  many  peculiar  to  itself,  and  it 
affords  as  impractical  a  fashion  of  putting  two  horses  at 
work  as  can  possibly  be  imagined.  Its  wheeler  works  always 
at  great  disadvantage,  in  that  he  may  be  suddenly  pulled  on 
to  his  head  going  down  hill,  or  on  the  level,  if  the  tyro  charioteer 
is  letting  his  leader  get  the  best  of  him;  or  snatched  onto  his 
side  going  round  a  corner;  or  kicked  in  the  mouth  by  his 
recalcitrant  forerunner;  or  subjected  to  various  other  indig- 
nities trying  to  temper  and  painful  to  physique.  The  leader 
must,  to  be  perfect,  combine  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent,  the 
courage  of  the  lion,  the  freedom  of  the  eagle;  must  look  where 
he  goes  and  "go  where  he  looks;"  must  divine  the  proper 
direction  by  the  mere  "  feel "  of  the  traces,  since  often  his  reins 
perforce  will  be  loose ;  must  go  gaily  up  to  his  bit,  but  never 
rudely  against  it;  must,  in  short,  possess  an  amount  of 
acumen  which  never  receives  one-half  of  the  admiration 
it  merits,  especially  when  we  remember  that  we  carefully 
arrange  his  blinkers  so  that  he  can  see  neither  behind  nor  to 
either  side  of  him;  and  generally  gag-check  him  so  that  his 
gaze  must  be  fixed  far  into  the  future  or  upward  toward 
the  blazing  sun. 

Still  tandem  driving  is  undeniably  great  fun,  and  it  is 

77 


DRIVING 

astounding  how  many  novices  will  light-heartedly  attempt 
it  while  they  foreswear  the  far  simpler  task  of  steering  four, 
who  perforce  help  to  keep  each  other  straight.  The  ratio 
in  driving  is  most  irregular;  for,  while  managing  a  pair  is  as 
easy  as  driving  one,  handling  a  tandem  is  twice  as  hard  as 
controlling  a  four-in-hand.  Bar  badly  mannered  horses, 
improper  harnessing  and  incompetent  or  careless  drivers 
and  tandem  is  as  safe  as  any  form  of  driving;  but  "even 
money,  bar  three "  is  a  hard  bet  for  which  to  find  takers. 
Especially  does  the  last  item  cause  accident,  for  the  two 
reasons  that  even  the  most  arrant  duffers  will  persist  in 
essaying  the  feat,  and  that  the  expert  with  four  finds  very 
often  that  his  hands  are  too  heavy  for  two  and  his  manipula- 
tion not  quick  enough  to  capably  perform  the  task  offhand. 
Whatever  else  you  do,  be  sure  at  least  to  get  a  heavy 
and  properly  balanced  cart,  and  one  not  too  top-heavy. 
Light  gigs  and  tilbury s  were  never  intended  for  such  work, 
and  woe  to  you  if  you  foolishly  tempt  fate  in  them.  "  Regu- 
lation" tandem  carts  are  obtainable  everywhere,  and  cheap 
enough,  too,  either  new  or  second  hand,  now  that  the  fad  is 
on  the  wane.  A  "  tandem- wagon  "  was  introduced  at  one 
time  which  had  much  merit,  as  it  sat  as  high  as  a  cart  and, 
cutting  completely  under,  was  equally  as  handy.  The 
vehicle  should  be  roomy  all  over  (wide  and  deep),  carrying 
four  as  pleasantly  as  two;  balancing  nicely  however  loaded. 
The  cushion  should  be  one  that  you  can  sit  down  upon,  not 
prop  yourself  against,  at  the  risk  of  a  hideous  fall  if  your 
wheeler  stumbles.  If  the  cushion  is  too  sloping  folded  rugs 
will  always  give  the  right  shape.  Attention  must  be  carefully 
paid  to  the  balance  and  the  shaft-girth  always  left  loose, 
that  there  may  be  play  enough  to  avoid  all  "  knee-motion  " ; 
while  the  shafts  themselves  should  not  be  so  wide  that  the 

78 


TANDEM    DRIVING 

vehicle  through  shoulder- action  swings  awkwardly  from  side 
to  side  (or  snubbing- straps  must  be  used).  By  attention  to 
girths,  by  shifting  seats  or  the  body  by  means  of  patent 
levers  provided  for  that  purpose,  and  by  the  necessary  changes 
of  position  on  the  seat,  a  perfect  balance  may  always  be 
maintained  over  all  varieties  of  ground. 

Your  outfit  should  include  as  many  of  the  essentials  as 
you  think  you  will  need — these  will  be  found  described  under 
the  chapter  on  appointments — but  you  should  always  carry 
rein  and  trace  splices,  cord,  wire,  spare  bit,  jaw-strap,  etc. 

However,  this  is  all  as  fancy  dictates,  for  if  there  is  any 
reason  nowadays  for  the  perpetuation  or  the  perpetration  of 
the  tandem  it  is  solely  that  of  temporary  necessity  or  conve- 
nience, and  such  being  the  case,  the  roughest  makeshifts  are 
perfectly  en  regie.  Appointed  anyhow  and  everyhow  you  are 
undeniably  ' '  correct ' '  in  your  relation  to  this  style  of  driving, 
and  your  harness  and  horses  may  be  anything  that  emergency 
provides.  Of  course  medium-sized  to  small  animals  are  the 
most  available,  active  and  enduring,  and  the  wheeler  should 
be  thicker,  stronger  and  preferably  taller  than  the  leader, 
which  is  usually  of  a  light  and  rangy  build.  Many  of  our 
best  show  tandems,  however,  make  good  pairs — good  enough 
to  win  perpetually  in  that  harness — so  that  horses  of  prac- 
tically identical  shape  are  all  right  so  far  as  looks  and  effect 
go.  Be  your  leader  what  he  w411,  he  should  have  at  least 
two  virtues:  he  must  go  boldly  and  lightly  up  to  his  bridle 
and  he  must  have  a  sensitive  and  responsive  mouth,  that  he 
may  turn  quickly ;  he  must  also  be  indifferent  to  the  dangling 
of  the  traces  about  his  legs.  The  wheeler  may  be  anything, 
so  long  as  he  does  not  pull  hard  and  is  safe  to  "follow  his 
leader,"  if  only  you  will  promptly  give  him  the  chance — 
which  is  at  least  what  you  desire. 

79 


DRIVING 

Well-made  tandem  harness  is  easily  obtainable,  but  any 
gig  harness  will  do  for  a  wheeler,  with  a  "side"  of  double 
harness  for  the  leader.  If  all  harnesses  are  bought  made  in 
the  same  general  style  as  to  blinkers,  pad,  etc.,  endless 
combinations  may  be  made  from  them,  and  with  a  set  of 
lead  reins  and  traces,  tandem  or  four-in-hand  may  be  suitably 
arrayed  from  one  set  of  single  and  two  sets  of  double  harness 
with  much  ease  and  economy,  instead  of  keeping,  as  is  usual, 
a  separate  outfit  for  single,  double,  tandem  and  four-horse 
work.  Whatever  you  use,  it  should  be  as  plain  as  possible 
and  no  superfluities  allowed  anywhere.  You  may  provide 
change  tandem- terrets  for  your  single  (wheel)  harness,  and 
the  same  to  apply  to  your  (wheel)  bridle.  The  traces  must 
be  as  short  as  possible,  and  you  may,  if  you  like,  use  the 
double  lead-bars  which  enable  one  to  use  ordinary  traces  for 
lead  work  instead  of  the  regular  lead  traces.  Compactness 
assists  materially.  Breeching,  or  a  brake  on  the  cart,  is 
useful  in  hilly  countries,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  they 
afford  a  great  boon  to  the  wheeler  who  must  hold  back  by  the 
roots  of  his  tail  and  by  his  withers  a  cart  weighing  from  i,ooo 
to  1,200  pounds,  containing  perhaps  four  heavy  people,  and 
this  possibly  down  very  steep  hills.  Special  attention  should 
always  be  given  the  tugs  to  see  that  they  are,  and  remain,  in 
front  of  the  keepers  on  the  shafts. 

The  wheeler  must  always  start,  stop  and  turn  the  cart, 
and  the  leader  should  only  feel  his  traces  when  going  up  a 
declivity  or  in  heavy  going.  If  he  does  so  at  any  other 
time  it  requires  great  nicety  of  driving  to  prevent  his  pull- 
ing the  wheeler  on  to  his  head  and  knees,  as  the  latter  will 
always  begin  to  hang  back  when  he  feels  the  cart  drawn  on 
to  his  withers. 

Once  started,  the  wheeler  should  "follow  the  leader," 

80 


w 

H 


TANDEM   DRIVING 

be  the  latter' s  movements  what  they  will.  It  is  far 
simpler  to  keep  after  him,  even  if  he  go  round  and 
round,  than  to  get  things  all  tangled  up  by  trying  to 
keep  the  wheel-horse  straight  while  your  leader  looks 
you  in  the  face.  Your  horses  are  easiest  kept  in  line 
by  taking  back  or  letting  out  the  two  reins  which  lie 
together  between  the  first  and  second  fingers,  these  being 
the  off -lead  rein  and  the  near- wheel  rein.  If  a  cranky  leader 
comes  round,  a  blow  of  the  double- thong  across  the  face  may 
send  him  straight  again,  but  if  not,  drive  round  after  him  and 
so  waltz  about  until  he  proceeds. 

Two  high-couraged  and  light-mouthed  nags  as  a  tandem 
will  afford  ample  scope  for  the  driving  abilities  of  even  the 
most  expert,  and  the  leader  must  be  handled  with  the  greatest 
delicacy,  especially  at  starting,  or  he  may  rear,  plunge,  throw 
himself  and  make  an  awful  mess  of  it.  The  bitting  of  such 
horses  must  be  especially  interdependent,  so  to  speak,  or  no 
harmony  can  prevail. 

The  groom  never  occupies  the  rear  seat  of  a  dog-cart 
unless  the  driver  has  a  companion  on  the  seat  beside,  and, 
when  standing,  his  place  is  just  in  front  of  the  leader,  not 
touching  him,  unless  restive,  when  he  grasps  both  reins,  or, 
perhaps  preferably,  the  nose-band.  When  left  alone  to  hold 
them,  his  place  is  off  side  at  the  wheeler's  head,  his  left  hand 
on  his  reins  and  his  right  on  those  of  the  leader.  A  servant 
should  always  be  smart  in  getting  up  and  down,  and  nothing 
looks  worse  than  to  see  him  clambering  clumsily  about, 
always  tardy  both  at  start  and  halt;  or  to  notice  the  master 
anxiously  glancing  behind  to  see  that  the  man  has  not  been 
outpaced  and  lost.  Tailboards  are  always  kept  up  when 
but  two  occupy  the  vehicle. 

Prizes  have  been  offered  at  many  American  shows — 

St 


DRIVING 

although  very  properly  not  of  recent  years — for  "park 
tandems"  (whatever  they  may  be),  and  for  the  sake  of  pre- 
serving a  curious  anomaly  their  methods  of  appointment 
appear  under  the  chapter  on  appointments.  The  exhibits 
of  "hunting  tandems"  which  we  have  quite  frequently 
witnessed  at  the  same  exhibitions  have  proved  interesting, 
and  more  like  the  "  real  thing  "  probably  than  any  other  form 
of  the  arrangement,  being,  as  they  probably  are,  the  originals 
of  the  custom.  Still,  for  all  practical  purposes,  no  more 
awkward  fashion  of  working  two  horses  can  be  designed,  and 
the  steady  decrease  in  its  popularity  proves  that  public 
opinion  coincides  with  that  of  the  writer. 

A  few  preliminary  trials  with  a  four-in-hand  will  prove 
of  much  value  to  any  one  who  would  essay  the  tandem.  A 
four  keep  each  other  straight,  and  any  bungling  with  the 
reins  which  the  beginner  is  sure  to  make  will  not  so  readily 
upset  the  former  as  the  latter,  while  the  points  and  loopings 
are  more  easily  made  with  a  four,  because  the  reins  are  more 
widely  separated  and  do  not  come  "home  to  the  hand"  so 
close  together.  Shorter  loops  will  also  generally  answer 
better,  and  even  if  a  very  acute  angle  must  be  turned,  a  small 
loop,  quickly  enlarged  by  again  taking  up  extra  rein,  brings 
gentler  effect  than  one  large  point  made  at  once. 


83 


CHAPTER  X 

FOUR-IN-HAND    DRIVING 

The  chief  difference  between  tandem  and  four-in-hand 
driving  is  that  the  former  looks  easier  than  it  is,  and  the 
latter  appears  more  difficult  than  experiment  will  prove  it. 
Your  tandem  leader  is  strictly  "on  his  own"  at  any  and  all 
times,  but  four  horses  combine  to  keep  each  other  straight, 
or,  at  least,  do  not  unite  to  get  their  master  into  trouble. 
Oceans  of  ink  and  volumes  of  space  have  been  consumed  in 
advice  as  to  the  ways  and  means  of  pursuing  this  most 
fascinating  pastime,  and  many  have  been  the  essentials 
insisted  upon  for  satisfactory  and  workmanlike  performance. 
The  sine  qua  non,  however,  of  comfortable  and  businesslike 
arrangement  of  four  horses  in  a  team  is  compactness — they 
must  be  as  near  to  each  other  and  to  their  work,  both  lati- 
tudinally  and  longitudinally,  as  it  is  possible  to  get  them, 
without  causing  collision  with  toe-board,  splinter-bars  or 
pole-end  in  the  one  case,  and  actual  jostling  in  the  other.  It 
is  very  common  to  find  many  teams  labouring  (not  merely 
working)  much  too  far  from  their  points  of  draft,  and  so 
loosely  coupled  and  poled-up  that,  like  ancient  mariners,  they 
"looked  east,  they  looked  west"  in  their  peregrinations 
along  the  high  road. 

Given  the  essentials  of  vehicle,  horses  and  harness,  let 
us  put  the  lot  together  in  a  businesslike  and  progressive 
manner,  and  then  get  up  and  drive  them — for,  after  all,  the 
"putting- to"  is  so  essentially  a  component  part  of  the  feat 
of  driving  four  that  it  is  a  moiety  of  the  undertaking,  and  a 

83 


DRIVING 

most  important  one.  Assuming  that  the  coach  is  ready  on 
the  carriage-house  floor,  or,  as  is  safer,  from  the  less  chance 
it  affords  of  horses  suddenly  starting  before  they  are  asked, 
in  the  yard  or  street  outside;  that  the  horses  are  harnessed, 
as  described  in  other  chapters,  we  are  ready  to  "put  to," 
and  this  cannot  well  be  properly  done  by  less  than  three  men 
— as  yourself  and  two  grooms,  for  we  assume  that,  for  the 
sake  of  practice,  you  will  take  an  active  hand  in  the  proceed- 
ing. Bring  on  your  wheelers  then,  and  lead  each  up  on  his 
proper  side  of  the  pole,  not,  as  is  so  often  done,  by  leading 
him  straight  at  the  pole-head,  and  then  by  a  more  or  less 
sudden  twist  and  smack  on  the  ribs,  sidling  him  into  his  place, 
but  by  bringing  them  up  to  it  diagonally,  so  that  when  their 
heads  are  in  the  proper  place,  and  their  shoulders  close  against 
the  pole,  a  side-step  behind  puts  them  parallel  with  it  and 
in  place. 

Your  horses  should  not  be  so  far  forward  that  you  must 
back  them  to  slip  the  trace  ends  or  loops  over  the  roller- 
bolts,  but  so  that  your  pole-chain  hook  will  catch  into,  or 
go  a  few  links  through,  the  kidney-link  ring,  which  can  be 
adjusted  after  the  traces  are  in  place  (always  putting  on 
the  outside  one  first  to  prevent  the  animal's  turning  round 
and  perhaps  breaking  something) :  a  step  forward  then  allows 
you  to  pole  them  up  to  the  proper  link,  which  should  always 
be  such  as  to  leave  the  chains  rather  loose,  the  hook  going 
through  the  link  from  above  downward  in  order  to  avoid  any 
danger  of  catching  a  curb-chain  or  bridle  or  bit  on  it.  Your 
wheelers  are  now  to  be  coupled,  and  the  nigh  rein  thrown 
across  the  off  horse's  back,  when  the  two  reins  are  united, 
and  hung  temporarily  over  the  off  terret.  Bring  your 
leaders  into  place  in  the  same  way,  couple  them,  and 
put  on  their  traces,  preferably  crossed  on  the  inside,  each 

84 


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2 

o 


FOUR-IN-HAND    DRIVING 

horse  working  off  his  mate's  bar  with  that  trace.  This 
greatly  evens  the  working  of  a  team,  as  any  plowman  or 
teamster  will  tell  you,  and  nothing  so  completely  and  simply 
brings  up  a  slug  with  a  free-going  mate,  as  he  punishes  himself 
by  hanging  back.  You  may  lap  them  if  you  choose;  or 
allow  each  horse  to  work  off  his  own  bar,  but  the  first  is  so 
much  the  better  in  every  practical  way  that  it  is  a  wonder 
that  it  is  not  universal.  Its  only  drawback  is  that,  when 
galloping  down  grade,  practically  never  done  nowadays,  or 
if  the  leaders  are  not  in  their  collars,  the  bars  get  to  swing- 
ing and  tilting  in  rather  an  unsightly  fashion.  However, 
this  is  no  detriment  to  utility,  and  how  often  does  one  gallop  ? 
or  how  far?  The  leader's  reins  are  now  passed — some  people 
pass  them  before  attaching  the  traces,  but  no  advantage 
seems  to  accrue  from  the  practice;  on  the  contrary,  the 
writer  has  had  a  wheeler's  bridle  pulled  off  because  a  plunging 
leader  bested  his  groom  and,  getting  away,  whipped  his  rein 
through  the  head-terret  (where  it  chanced  to  be  for  that 
particular  horse)  until  its  tangled  end  caught  and  carried 
everything  with  it.  Passing  through  the  wheelers'  bridles 
and  pad-teiTets,  they  are  buckled,  and  the  two  sets  of  reins 
smoothly  tucked  under  the  off  horse's  trace-bearer,  from 
before  back,  are  in  readiness  for  your  hand  to  pull  out 
and  arrange. 

If  bearing-reins  are  used,  these  should  have  been  drawn 
forward  between  the  horses'  ears  and  down  their  foreheads, 
ready  to  be  put  on  the  water-hooks  just  before  starting,  or 
after,  if  they  are  nervous.  All  bearing- reins  should  be  easy 
at  starting,  and  until  neck-muscles  are  warmed,  and  able  to 
yield  without  pain  or"discomfort.  After  ten  minutes'  driving 
you  may  have  the  animals  "  bome  up  "  as  far  as  you  incon- 
siderately elect,  and  they  will  submit  quietly.     Severe  check- 


DRIVING 

ing  before  starting  is  the  direct  cause  of  much  bad  behaviour, 
balking,  rearing  and  plunging — or  worse. 

Rein-ends  will  be  much  more  satisfactory  if  arranged 
with  small  snap-hooks  on  the  off  sides  and  little  rings  on  the 
near.  These  may  be  as  stout  as  you  please,  and  are  connected 
or  unfastened  instantly — an  especially  great  convenience  in 
road-coaching  when  coming  to  a  change.  There  is  no  special 
reason  for  the  buckle-and-billet  ends  to  all  driving-reins. 
Coupling-reins  should  be  short,  on  the  leaders,  though  those 
at  wheel  should  come  to  within  a  few  inches  of  your  hands, 
thus  enabling  you  to  alter  their  couplings  yourself  from  the 
box.  Too  long  lead-couplings  are  dangerous  because  they 
may  get  under  a  leader's  tail  and  cause  a  kicking  match  or  a 
smash.  It  is  also  a  good  plan  to  have  the  lead-terrets,  or  the 
coupling-buckles,  contrived  in  such  a  way  that  the  latter 
cannot  slip  through  the  former  if  a  horse  hangs  back,  or 
jumps  ahead.  Of  course,  if  the  buckle  is  larger  than  the 
terret  no  complication  can  ensue,  but  this  necessitates  buckles 
of  two  sizes,  as  that  at  the  bit-end  must  go  easily  through  all 
such  rings.  A  stop  of  heavy  leather,  metal  or  wood  may  be 
affixed  across  the  rein  just  in  front  of  the  coupling-buckle, 
which  answers  well,  and  need  not  be  conspicuous. 

Reins  themselves  are  to  be  always  kept  very  pliable, 
and  not  too  thin  or  narrow.  If  made  in  this  way  they  are 
pretty  playthings  with  which  to  drive  a  perfectly  mouthed 
team,  and  to  perform  all  sorts  of  fancy  work  in  the  way  of 
loopings,  but  they  are  neither  serviceable,  safe  nor  workman- 
like. Their  width  must  depend  upon  the  length  of  the 
fingers  and  will  vary  from  an  inch  upward. 

Wheelers'  throat-latches  must  be  quite  tight,  if  bearing- 
reins  are  not  used,  or  the  bridles  may  be  pulled  off  by  a 
fractious  leader,  or  rubbed  off;  and  if  metal  brow-bands  are 

86 


t-i 
< 

2 


■  smut  i 


FOUR-IN-HAND   DRIVING 

used  they  must  fit,  and  not  be  too  long,  so  as  to  allow  the  bridle 
to  drop  awkwardly  back  upon  the  wheeler's  cheeks.  TC' 
insure  a  good  and  permanent  flare  to  the  blinkers,  thereby 
rendering  them  much  cooler  and  more  comfortable,  the 
writer,  instead  of  connecting  their  supports  to  the  top  of  the 
bridle,  sews  a  small  loop  on  the  lower  edge  of  the  brow-band 
and  carries  a  stiff  round  strap  from  one  blinker-tip  to  the 
other  through  this  loop.  This  has  afforded  much  satisfaction, 
and  insures  uniform  appearance  and  freer  vision  to  the  bridles 
of  all  the  team. 

Your  team  being  ready,  it  is  time,  after  a  last  look  over 
all  details,  to  proceed  with  the  embarkation  and  to  take 
your  place  upon  the  quarterdeck.  Taking  your  reins  from 
their  resting-place  in  the  trace-bearer  of  the  off  horse,  your 
whip,  ready  thonged,  from  its  haven  across  the  wheelers' 
backs  (which  is  a  dangerous  resting  place  for  it,  as  the  dropping 
of  the  thong  may  startle  the  nigh  horse),  or  over  the  toe- 
board  (which  is  much  better),  you  place  your  reins  in  the 
left  hand  according  to  any  of  the  systems  which  you  may 
fancy,  described  in  the  chapter  on  holding  them,  and,  after 
drawing  each  back  until  you  just  lightly  touch  your  horses' 
mouths,  you  shift  them  all  in  that  order  to  the  right  hand, 
which  also  holds  the  whip,  well  elevated,  that  it  may  not 
touch  the  wheel-horses,  and  throwing  the  pendent  ends 
over  your  right  forearm,  you  proceed  to  mount  to  the  box, 
using  your  free  left  hand  to  assist.  Left  foot  to  hub,  right 
to  roller-bolt,  left  to  step  and  right  to  toe-board  is  your 
mode  of  upward  progression,  the  last  movement  landing  you 
upon  that  elevation  ready  to  sink  on  to  your  driving- cushion. 
There  are  two  methods  of  handling  the  reins  during  this 
ascent:  One,  starting  with  them  as  you  have  drawn  them 
to  you  (the  off-side  reins   being  the  shortest),  and  allowing 

87 


DRIVING 

these  to  gradually  slide  through  the  fingers  until,  on  reaching 
the  box,  they  are  all  equal  (this  is,  perhaps,  the  better  style, 
as  by  it  you  retain  control  of  your  horses  at  all  stages).  By 
the  other,  while  the  reins  are  in  the  left  hand,  you  lay  hold 
of  the  two  off-side  reins  in  the  right,  and  pull  them  through 
the  fingers  of  the  left  until  the  ofT-side  wheel  coupling-buckle  is 
opposite  that  of  the  near-side.  Thus  all  reins  are  the  same 
length  when  the  toe-board  is  reached,  but  at  no  other  time; 
and  should  careless  grooms  or  restive  horses  cause  trouble, 
you  are  quite  powerless  to  assist  the  one  or  to  restrain 
the  other. 

Having  successfully  proceeded  thus  far,  sit  down  as 
nature  meant  you  should,  neither  placing  your  feet  far  in 
advance,  as  though  ready  to  fend  off  a  kick  from  the  wheeler 
(thereby  sitting  upon  the  small  of  your  back  and  not  as  you 
were  built  to  do),  or  assuming  the  grotesque  perch  like  a 
dicky-bird  on  a  limb,  so  much  affected  by  the  modem  school, 
and  which  has  been  discussed  in  "Driving  for  Novices." 
In  medias  res  you  will  be  safer  and  more  graceful,  sitting 
squarely  down,  and  yet  upright  and  with  hollowed  back, 
to  bring  about  that  elastic  and  delicate  feel  which  has  in 
driving  so  much  to  do  with  results.  If  the  toes  are  just  at 
the  beginning  of  the  elevation  of  the  toe-board,  the  knees 
will  be  moderately  bent,  the  posture  secure,  and  the  practical 
and  picturesque  results  both  safely  attained. 

The  start  will  depend  upon  circumstances.  All  being 
demure  and  temperate  before  the  vehicle,  your  wheelers 
start  the  coach,  and  your  leaders,  just  clear  of  the  bars,  move 
smoothly  off  at  your  "  Stand  aside  ! "  to  the  grooms,  and  the 
corresponding  indescribable  and  instinctive  telegraphic  inti- 
mation through  the  reins  that  motion  is  intended.  It  is 
extraordinary  to  witness  this  sympathy  between  a   "good 

88 


FOUR-IN-HAND   DRIVING 

man"  and  a  well-bitted  horse  or  team.  Without  word  or 
apparent  motion  on  the  driver's  part  suddenly  the  animals 
collect  themselves  and  move  away — and  this  when  accom- 
plished regularly  and  with  all  kinds  of  strange  horses  as  some 
men  can  do  it  is  the  acme  of  horsemanship.  The  same  horses 
are  very  different  on  different  days,  and  the  four  equine 
tempers  are  rarely  exactly  the  same,  any  more  than  is  the 
one  masculine !  Therefore,  as  Pooh  Bah  says  in  "  The 
Mikado,"  "  Bless  you,  it  all  depends!''  and  if  one  wheeler  flies 
back  it  is  better  to  let  your  lead-reins  slide  a  bit  instantly 
that  the  leaders  may  take  the  draft;  or  swing  the  whole 
team  (or  the  wheelers  at  all  events)  a  step  or  so  in  his  direc- 
tion. If  leaders  are  flighty  one  must  instantly  determine 
what  expedient  will  "make  the  penalty  fit  the  crime"  and 
forthwith  put  it  to  use,  even  if  it  consist  in  ramming  them  with 
the  crab !  To  start,  one  must  insure  motion,  and  when  all  is 
said  and  done,  that  is  what  we  are  trying  to  bring  about,  so 
that  cut-and-dried  rules-of- thumb  are  of  little  value,  and 
"  I  will !  "  must  wait  upon  "  Am  I  able  ? " 

Grooms  must  be  sharp,  and  let  go  at  once  when  the 
familiar  jerk  of  the  head  is  made  or  the  "  Stand  aside ! "  is 
spoken,  but  many  a  case  of  "hang  up"  or  a  determined 
jibbing-match  is  caused  by  their  literal  interpretation  of 
the  order;  for  the  mere  side-step  is  just  the  thing  they 
should  not  do,  but  always  go  forward  in  view  of  their  charges, 
for  two  or  three  steps ;  not  touching  the  reins,  but  conveying 
to  the  hesitating  animal,  if  ^  one  there  be,  the  moral  effect  of 
being  led  off.  Not  once  in  a  thousand  times  is  this  capably 
performed,  and  not  that  one  time  will  anything  happen  to 
retard  progress,  but  the  horses,  instead  of  even  possibly 
flying  about,  move  cheerfully  away,  all  in  their  places.  This 
is  one  of  the  "  unconsidered  trifles  "  that  make  all  the  difference 

89 


DRIVING 

whether  with  one  or  four  horses.  One  often  hears  the  inquiry^ 
"Can  you  hold  a  horse?"  to  some  lounger,  but  never  to  the 
groom,  "Do  you  know  how  to  let  go?" 

Looping,  "points,"  "opposition"  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
interesting  manipulation  incidental  to  four-in-hand  driving 
is  discussed  at  length  in  the  chapter  on  holding  the  reins,  and 
will  not  be  argued  here. 

Once  under  way,  drive  quietly  for  at  least  the  first 
mile,  unless  your  team  is  very  green  and  headstrong,  in 
which  case  let  them  go  along,  for  the  faster  the  pace  the  more 
freedom  for  individual  peculiarities  to  reconcile  themselves 
and  the  easier  the  task  to  all.  Don't  fight  any  of  them, 
nor  be  in  too  great  hurry  to  change  bitting,  coupling,  etc. 
Perhaps  they  are  right  and  will  show  you  they  are  when 
they  settle.  Let  them  teach  you  if  they  can,  nor  be  above 
such  instruction. 

A  down  grade,  if  of  moderate  nature,  rarely  demands 
shortening  back  of  your  leaders,  for  as  the  wheelers  take  the 
coach  on  the  pole-chains,  their  position  nearer  the  coach 
will,  if  your  lead-reins  do  not  slip,  take  the  whole  team  back 
in  following  the  wheelers'  mouths  and  the  result  be  just 
right — which  surely  can't  be  improved  upon !  Whatever 
you  do,  always  go  quietly  over  the  brow  of  a  declivity  and 
never  shift  your  reins  on  the  down  grade — but  always  have 
them  arranged  as  you  mean  they  shall  be  for  the  descent. 
A  horse  may  stumble  or  a  rein  twist  at  the  critical  moment 
when  your  hand,  or  hands,  are  relaxed;  away  goes  a  rein 
(and  the  coach),  and  there  is  a  regular  mess  in  a  moment. 

If  your  hand  and  arm  begin  to  tire  and  cramp,  pull  the 
team  up,  and  do  it  quickly.  You  can  never  tell  how  far  this 
may  progress,  and  it  will  sometimes  reach  the  lengths  when 
your  powerless  left  opens  supinely  and  lets  go  of  everything. 

90 


CO 

< 
n 

c 
< 
w 

o 
z 

T 

o 

I 
C/1 


FOUR-IN-HAND    DRIVING 

Never  turn  a  comer  with  the  leaders  in  the  collars,  for 
they  then  have  perfect  command  and  may  land  you  in  the 
drug-store  or  the  grocer's  shop  in  a  jiffy. 

Keep  all  hands  working  evenly  up  to  their  bits  (not 
necessarily  traces)  all  the  time,  unless  the  trip  is  very  long, 
and  one  or  more  hold  out  signals  of  great  fatigue.  Allow 
such  a  one  to  "  drop  out  of  his  collar  "  for  a  few  yards,  and 
run  free  to  get  a  few  long  breaths.  If  you  ever  rowed  in  a 
race  you  will  remember  the  enormous  relief  when  the  cox- 
swain sung  out,  "Hold  her  starboard!"  and  as  you  whirled 
rotmd  the  buoy,  merely  holding  water,  how  sweet  those 
four  or  five  big  gulps  were  and  how  your  strength  was  almost 
instantly  renewed. 


91 


CHAPTER  XI 

MANNERS      AND      METHODS       OF       HOLDING       REINS  I        SINGLE, 
DOUBLE,    TANDEM,    FOUR-    AND    SIX-IN-HAND;    HANDLING 

THE    WHIP,    ETC. 

In  driving  one  or  a  pair  the  accepted  method  of  holding 
the  reins  is  to  bring  the  near  rein  over  the  first  finger  of 
the  left  hand,  the  off  between  the  second  and  third  fingers, 
the  reins  dropping  thence  through  the  hand  and  being  confined 
by  firmly  closing  it,  and  by  shutting  the  thumb  closely  down 
upon  the  near  rein  and  dexter  finger.  Although  this  is  the 
"  correct "  manner,  it  will  be  found  in  practice  that  the  reins 
are  chiefly  held  between  the  three  lower  fingers  and  the  palm, 
and  that  the  pressure  of  the  thumb  and  full  hand  is  rarely 
firm.  This  relieves  the  strain  on  wrist,  forearm  and  hand 
muscles,  which  the  tightly  closed  fist  renders  finally  almost 
paralysing — absolutely  so,  in  fact,  if  the  grasp  is  not  eased 
or  relaxed  at  intervals.  The  truth  is  that  the  reins  are  never 
held  as  tightly  nor  as  immovably  as  one  would  believe  from 
those  who  write  on  driving,  but  the  hand  is  in  a  position  when 
occasion  arises  to  instantly  close  upon  them  and  to  hold 
them  firm.  The  same  thing  applies  to  a  seat  in  the  saddle, 
which  is  never  retained  by  the  tremendous  grasp  of  thigh 
and  knee,  which  popular  opinion  assumes,  but  by  having 
them  in  such  a  position  that  the  mere  tightening  of  the 
muscles  preserves  safely  the  seat.  Thus  the  votaries  of 
riding  by  balance  are  as  much  in  the  right  as  the  advocates 
of  riding  by  grip. 

In  the  handling  of  road-horses  and  trotters  the  reins  are 

93 


DRIVING 

held  in  a  variety  of  ways ;  that  generally  used  being  to  carry  the 
off  rein  over  the  first  finger  and  through  the  full  hand ;  the 
near  coming  outside  the  little  finger,  through  the  full  hand  and 
over  the  thumb.  This  method  allows  of  doing  quite  a  lot 
of  driving  and  changing  direction  by  merely  turning  the 
wrist  and  hand  either  way.  The  off  rein  is  readily  grasped 
when  necessary  by  the  right  hand,  and  comes  through  it 
outside  the  little  finger  and  over  the  thumb,  etc.,  as  when 
placed  in  the  left,  or  is  seized  in  any  other  handy  manner. 

A  pair  of  roadsters,  coupled  as  they  are  with  the  heads 
far  apart  and  equipped  with  plain  snaffle-bits,  rarely  drive 
evenly  and  pleasantly  if  the  reins  are  held  in  one  hand,  and 
two  are  nearly  always  needful  for  comfort  to  both  driver  and 
animals. 

In  "heavy-harness"  driving  the  right  hand  is  carried 
near  to  the  left,  that  it  may  be  instantly  available,  and  is 
held  generally  directly  over  the  left  wrist  or  base  of  the  left 
thumb,  both  hands  being  low,  about  opposite  the  middle 
buttons  of  the  coat,  and  the  arms  falling  easily  close  to  the 
sides,  the  left  wrist  slightly  bent  outward  to  give  lightness 
to  the  "feel"  of  the  hand.  Imitators  of  show-ring  drivers 
have  lately  introduced  the  fashion — and  a  good  and  sensible 
one  it  is — of  holding  a  rein  in  each  hand;  and  this  is  done  so 
inconspicuously,  and  they  are  held  so  close  to  the  body  that 
the  detail  is  not  generally  noticeable.  The  style  is  worthy 
of  all  praise,  as  assisting  greatly  in  the  manipulation  of  the 
horse's  mouth  and  tending  to  increase  the  delicacy  of  touch 
and  handling  in  the  driver.  Otherwise  the  right  hand  may 
rest  easily  upon  the  right  rein,  the  two  hands  separated  by  a 
few  inches,  and  in  turning  to  the  right  a  simple  widening  of 
the  space  by  sliding  the  right  hand  along  the  reins  proves 
sufficient  to  accomplish  the  purpose. 

94 


I.  MAKING  RIGHT  POINT  OVER  FORE- 
FINGER; OVERHAND  CLUTCH;  ONE  OR 
A   PAIR. 


2.     MAKING    LEFT  POINT; 
CLUTCH; ONE  OR  A  PAIR 


OVERHAND 


3.     CLUTCH 
FINGERS 


WITH      THREE      LOWER 


4.     ROAD      DRIVING.  FULL      HAND 

CLUTCH  ;  EITHER  REIN  READILY  SHORT- 
ENED BY  SEIZING  WITH  THUMB  AND 
FOREFINGER  OF  OTHER  HAND  AND 
SLIDING  RELIEVED    HAND   FORWARD. 


HOLDING   REINS 

With  perfectly  bitted  animals  the  right  hand  is  rarely 
actually  needed  except  in  making  right  angles  and  in  pulling 
up,  and  it  is  quite  possible  to  navigate  the  intricacies  of 
ordinary  traffic  by  merely  turning  the  hand  and  wrist  as 
occasion  arises  and  by  carrying  the  forearm  to  right  and  left. 
Perfectly  mouthed  horses  are  very  rare,  however,  and  the 
average  animal,  or  pair,  will  in  most  cases  require  two  hands 
for  complete  control. 

Loops  or  "points"  may  be  used  in  driving  one  or  a  pair 
as  well  as  in  handling  four,  etc.,  and  it  affords  good  practise 
to  use  them — renders  their  application  in  all  cases  mechanical 
and  cultivates  the  eye  so  that  the  taking  up  by  the  right  hand 
of  the  rein  for  the  loop  or  "  point "  to  describe  a  given  curve 
becomes  almost  automatic,  and  the  requisite  length  is  uncon- 
sciously determined.  The  manner  of  doing  this  is  described 
further  on. 

All  loops  or  "  points  "  should  be  taken  up  with  the  three 
lower  fingers  of  the  right  hand.  Many  drivers  use  the  first 
and  second  fingers  to  effect  this,  but  the  "overhand"  manner 
of  "going  after"  your  loop  or  "point"  is  smarter  and  more 
effective.  To  effect  this  the  back  of  the  right  hand  is  turned 
up  and  the  three  lower  fingers  grasp  the  rein  between 
their  tips  and  their  lower  portions  (above  the  palm).  The 
rein  is  then  drawn  back  and  looped  upon  or  between  the 
proper  fingers.  The  off  rein  is  grasped  in  the  right  hand  in 
the  same  way,  and  never,  in  driving  two-handed,  held  between 
the  thumb  and  dexter  finger  or  the  first  and  second  fingers, 
as  frequently  done.  This  is  the  principal  difference  between 
the  "underhand"  and  "overhand"  manipulation  of  the 
reins  and  affords  a  better  "play"  of  the  fingers  in  addition 
to  the  flexions  of  the  wrist — which,  by  the  way,  is 
always   to   be    held    bent    toward    the    body    at    the  joint 

95 


DRIVING 

(this  applies  to  both  wrists) — that  greater  flexibility  may 
be  secured. 

Reins  are  always  to  be  pushed  back  through  the  left 
hand — never  pulled  from  behind,  as  to  pull  them  the  left 
arm  must,  however  slightly,  give  and  go  forward,  thus  losing 
or  changing  the  hold  upon  the  horse's  mouth.  The  right 
hand  drops  upon  the  reins  a  little  in  advance  of  the  left, 
seizes  them  and,  the  left  fingers  relaxing,  the  right  slides 
them  back  or  the  left  slides  up  to  the  right — in  no  case  is  the 
left  ever  placed  in  advance.  The  stop  is  effected  in  the 
same  way,  and  the  hands  should  be  carried  straight  back, 
and  not,  as  taught  by  some  instructors,  raised  (as  to  the  left) 
toward  the  chin  after  the  right  has  been  placed  upon  the  reins. 
This  "flash  pull-up"  may  answer  with  very  light-mouthed 
or  sharply  bitted  horses,  but  cannot  be  used  with  all  and 
sundry — and  he  who  would  really  drive  must  be  prepared 
for  all  sorts  of  unexpected  resistance  and  ready  to  handle 
deftly  the  roughest  or  the  most  gentle.  Nor  is  this  chin- 
touching  fashion  more  graceful  than  effective,  for  nine  times 
out  of  ten  it  will  be  found  that  when  your  horse  or  team  is 
stopped  by  this  method  it  is  left  with  slack  traces  so  near 
the  vehicle  that  for  ordinary  precaution's  sake  one  has  to 
slide  up  the  left  hand  and  shorten  the  reins  in  order  to  retain 
any  communication  with  the  mouth.  Hence  the  style  is  not 
practical — none  is  that  is  not  useful  and  available  under  any 
and  all  circumstances — and  it  is  valuable  only  as  a  trade- 
mark of  the  pupils  of  one  or  two  instructors. 

There  are  several  methods  of  holding  the  reins  in  tandem 
and  four-horse  driving,  and  all  have  their  merits  and  demerits. 

They  will  all  be  described  here,  and  the  accompanying 
plates  illustrate  wherein  they  differ  and  how  they  act.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  in  turning  certain  styles  afford  scope  for 

06 


I.  DRIVING  ROADSTER,  FULL-HAXD 
CLUTCH.  OFF  REIX  OX  TOP.  NEAR  REIN 
BELOW:  AFFORDS  WIDE  CONTROL  OF 
DIRECTION  BY  TWISTING  HAND,  WRIST. 
OR  BOTH. 


2.     MAKING      LEFT      POINT;     FINGER 
CLUTCH ;  ONE  OR  A  PAIR. 


,v     PULL-UP  UR  SHORTENING  CLUTCH  , 
ONE  OR  A  PAIR. 


4.  DRIVING  ROADSTER:  USUAL  STYLE, 
BUT  UNSATISFACTORY  BECAUSE  THE 
TWO-HANDED  CLUTCH,  WHICH  AFFORDS 
CONTROL  AT  SPEED,  IS  NOT  EASILY 
MADE. 


HOLDING   REINS 

wider  angles  (and  semicircles),  by  the  mere  twisting  of  the 
wrist  and  by  carrying  the  arm  down  beside  the  hip  or  across, 
than  others.  Whether  these  are  the  more  practical  styles  is 
left  for  every  reader  to  determine  for  himself ;  but  it  is  urgently 
recommended  that  experiment  be  made  with  them  all,  and 
that  no  one's  dictum,  pro  or  con,  be  accepted  unquestioned. 
The  usual  "  pointings  "  or  loopings  are  possible  and  practical 
with  each,  as  the  photographs  show. 

Nothing  willj  be  said  here  of  "  opposition "  looping, 
because  with  the  average  horse  or  team  this  proceeding  is 
not  only  useless  but  dangerous,  in  that  it  is  extremely 
untrustworthy,  especially  with  rough,  hard-mouthed  horses, 
which  defy  it,  or  with  those  driven  much  at  wheel,  which 
grow  very  cunning  and  take  liberties  with  curbstones,  lamp- 
posts and  trees  at  unexpected  moments.  As  a  "freak 
fashion  "it  is  well  enough  to  play  with  and,  as  all  practice  is 
useful,  not  to  be  despised;  it  may  be  essayed,  but  necessary 
■ — never!  You  may  "oppose"  round  thiimb,  round  wrist, 
round  your  box-seats  off  ear  or  his  neck  if  you  like,  but  never 
depend  upon  it,  and  as  even  its  most  steadfast  adherents  do, 
always  forsake  it  utterly  in  times  of  emergency  and  peril. 
The  right  hand  on  the  appropriate  rein,  or  the  double- thong 
on  the  proper  shoulder  make  a  good  enough  "opposition" 
for  the  ordinary  coachman;  even  the  right  foot  comes  in 
handy  at  times  if  you  drive  all  kinds  and  "  take  'em  as  they 
come  ! "  This  diatribe  against  "  opposition  "  does  not  at  all 
decry  the  normal  fashion  of  carrying  the  forearm  across  the 
body  or  dropping  it  beside  the  thigh  (see  photograph) — the 
only  objection  to  the  latter  maneuver  being  that,  if  a  leader 
prove  suddenly  recalcitrant  your  hands  must  travel  quite  a 
distance  to  "get  together,"  and  meanwhile  much  may  happen 
— for  the  fascination   about   driving  tandem   or  four    (and 

97 


DRIVING 

especially  tandem !  especially  tandem!)  is  that  "thmgs"are 
boimd  to  "  happen,"  nor  are  you  usually  served  with  a  thirty- 
day  preliminary  notice  ! 

System  i :  By  the  accepted  fashion  of  holding  four 
reins  the  near  lead  passes  over  the  left  forefinger ;  the  off  lead 
between  the  first  and  second  finger,  above  the  near  wheel, 
which,  going  between  the  same  two  fingers,  lies  under  the  off 
lead;  the  off  wheel  going  between  the  second  and  third;  all 
passing  through  the  full  hand  and  being  most  closely  confined 
by  the  grasp  of  the  three  lower  fingers.  The  advantages  of 
the  system  are  that  either  pair  may,  by  lifting  the  reins  with 
the  right  hand  and  drawing  them  to  you,  be  taken  back 
easily;  and  by  lengthening  or  shortening  the  off  and 
near  reins  lying  together  between  the  first  and  second 
finger,  the  team  may  be  easily  kept  in  line  and  travel- 
ling   straight. 

System  2 :  In  this  fashion  the  near  lead  comes  in  over 
the  first  finger;  the  two  wheel-horses  (near  wheel  on  top) 
lie  together  between  the  first  and  second  fingers,  and  the 
off  lead  between  the  second  and  third,  all  falling  thence  as 
usual.  The  benefits  derived  from  this  fashion  are  that  the 
lead-reins  being  widely  separated,  considerable  curves  may 
be  made  by  carrying  the  forearm  down  to  the  hip  or  across, 
without  looping  or  touching  the  reins;  that  as  the  off -lead 
rein  crosses  the  others  near  the  toe-board  a  twist  of  the  wrist 
so  binds  them  that  much  less  effort  is  required  in  holding 
a  fresh  team  or  a  horse  that  pulls ;  and  the  off-  and  near-side 
reins  separate  readily  if  two  hands  are  necessary,  as  with 
rough  teams  they  occasionally  are. 

System  3:  By  this  the  two  wheel-reins  are  separated 
by  the  second  finger  and  the  nigh  lead  comes  in  as  usual 
over  the  index  finger,   the  off  lead  from  outside  the  little 

98 


I.  SECOND  METHOD  OF  HOLDING 
REIXS.  NEAR  LEAD  OVER  FIRST 
FINGER,  NEAR  WHEEL  AND  OFF  WHEEL 
BETWEEN  FIRST  AND  SECOND  FINGERS 
(NEAR  REIN  ON  TOP);  OFF-LEAD 
BETWEEN  SECOND  AND  THIRD  FINGERS. 
ALL  POINTS,  ETC.,  MADE  AS  USUAL. 


2.     SECOND    METHOD.      LEFT     POINT. 
RIGHT  OPPOSITION 


3.  FOUR-IN-HAND.  RIGHT  POINT 
LEFT  OPPOSITION  BY  LOOPING  BE- 
TWEEN FINGERS. 


4.     FOUR-IN-HAND.         LEFT     POINT, 
RIGHT  OPPOSITION  BETWEEN  FINGERS. 


HOLDING   REINS 

finger,  through  the  palm  and  over  the  thumb ;  thus  separating 
the  leaders'  reins  even  more  widely  and  making  curves — 
even  a  figure-of-eight — possible,  unassisted  by  the  right. 

System  4:  This  contemplates  the  holding  of  a  rein 
between  each  finger,  and  has  no  advantages  to  recommend  it 
that  the  writer  is  acquainted  with. 

It  is  said  that  in  those  "  good  old  times,"  of  which  we  hear 
so  much,  the  wheel-reins  were  just  long  enough  to  reach  the 
driver's  hand,  and  that  they  came  in  over  the  first  finger, 
outside  the  little  finger  and  through  the  palm  of  the  hand,  so 
that  by  opening  the  palm  and  sliding  it  either  way  an  "  opposi- 
tion "  could  be  developed.  However,  as  in  those  days  turns 
were  few  and  mouths  probably  bad,  as  "  cattle "  were  dull 
and  underbred,  it  is  highly  probable  that  any  fashion  which 
afforded  a  good,  solid  grasp  of  the  reins  was  to  be  preferred ; 
the  only  impending  calamity  being  that  if  a  wheel-horse  fell 
the  coachee  might  forthwith  be  jerked  off  his  box ! 

The  Austrians  have  a  way  of  buckling  the  lead-  and  wheel- 
reins  together  so  that  only  one  rein  comes  home  to  each  of 
the  driver's  hands;  the  team  being  "put  together"  by  ascer- 
taining the  length  of  reins  which  will  allow  all  the  horses  to 
go  up  into  their  collars.  All  four  are  driven  "in"  them  at 
all  times,  save  down  hill,  when  this  arrangement  takes  them 
all  back  alike,  and  as  the  wheelers  tighten  the  pole-straps 
the  leaders  slacken  their  traces,  and  vice  versa,  all  turns 
being  made,  as  it  were,  broadside  on  and  not  in  angles.  This 
appears  a  crude  arrangement  at  best;  but  these  drivers  go  a 
tremendous  pace,  hands  widely  extended  and  separated, 
whip  and  voice  in  active  use — a  style  certainly  not  graceful 
but  effective  from  the  "git  thar"  standpoint. 

In  driving  tandem  the  same  arrangement  of  the  reins 
is  used  as  in  driving  four. 

99 


DRIVING 

In  driving  six,  one  more  finger  is  called  into  use,  and 
as  the  left  arm  is  sure  to  become  fatigued  even  by  the  mere 
weight  of  the  reins,  the  second  system  will  be  found  very 
useful,  as  it  not  only  widely  separates  the  leaders  but  allows 
of  the  off  reins  being  readily  shifted  into  the  right  hand,  as 
comfort  and  occasion  require. 

Elevation  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  satisfactory 
driving  of  a  team  or  tandem,  and  the  box  or  seat  should  be  as 
much  over  the  horses  as  possible.  For  this  reason  a  coach  is 
far  easier  to  drive  from  than  a  brake,  as  the  angle  at  which 
the  reins  run  is  much  more  acute.  The  mere  weight  of  the 
reins  in  driving  from  a  brake  is  burdensome  after  a  few  miles 
have  been  covered. 

Even  if  turning  at  a  very  sharp  angle  it  will  be  found 
best  to  make  a  rather  small  "  point "  of  the  lead-reins  at  first, 
and  to  repeat  this  as  the  leaders  answer,  rather  than  to 
awkwardly  reach  out  for  perhaps  a  twenty-four-inch  loop  all  at 
one  motion;  besides  which,  if  all  the  reins  are  equally  tight, 
the  leaders'  mouths  are  violently  assailed,  and  the  sudden 
demand  upon  them  causes  confusion  and  possibly  rebellion. 
Usually  one  can  "give  the  office"  by  a  turn  of  the  wrist  the 
instant  before  the  "point"  is  made,  which  is  warning  enough 
to  well-trained  horses  of  what  is  to  follow. 

"Points"  for  the  leaders  may  both  be  made  over  the 
first  finger  of  the  left  hand  and  confined  by  the  thumb,  or  the 
off  rein  may  be  looped  between  the  first  and  second  fingers, 
the  body  of  the  reins  being  sufficiently  strongly  held  by  the 
three  lower  fingers.  "Opposition"  in  the  same  way  may 
be  caught  up  between  the  appropriate  fingers,  although 
in  the  case  of  the  near-wheel  horse  this  loop  will  be  gener- 
ally confined  by  the  upper  and  not  the  lower  joints 
of  the  fingers. 

lOO 


I.  SIX-IN-HAND,  LEFT  TURN.  BOTH 
POINTS  TAKEN  AT  SAME  CLUTCH,  OPPOSI- 
TION   BY    RIGHT   HAND. 


2.  SIX-IN-HAND.  RIGHT  TURN.  BOTH 
POINTS  TAKEN  AT  SAME  CLUTCH;  LEFT 
OPPOSITION  BY  RIGHT  HAND. 


3.  SIX-IN-HAND,  SLACKENING  PACE  OR 
PREPARING  TO  PULL  UP.  LEFT  HAND 
ABOUT  TO  SLIDE  FORWARD  TO  RIGHT. 


HOLDING    REINS 

Practise  will  make  all  these  varying  maneuvers  entirely 
mechanical  and  independent  of  the  eye  as  far  as  arrangement 
is  concerned.  As  the  occasion  arises,  when  expert,  the  eye 
instantly  calculates  the  degree  of  the  curve  necessary  to  be 
made,  and  the  hand  almost  automatically  seizes  the  proper 
rein  in  just  the  right  place,  increasing  the  length  taken  up 
if  result  proves  the  first  calculation  inadequate  or  if  the 
angle  to  be  made  is  very  sharp.  Driving  figures-of-eight  or 
similar  proceedings  is  grand  practise ;  as  it  also  is  to  have  a 
friend  beside  you  who  will  repeatedly  and  unexpectedly  indi- 
cate all  sorts  of  maneuvers  which  must  be  accom.plished  at  the 
word.  Driving  through  the  city  will  furnish  splendid  oppor- 
tunity to  learn  to  gauge  your  own  pace  and  that  of  other 
vehicles,  particularly  if  you  do  not  use  the  horn  too  much, 
so  that  every  one  gives  you  ample  room;  and  it  cultivates 
a  capital  eye  for  distance  and  direction,  besides  tending  to 
increase  coolness  and  presence  of  mind — two  of  the  chief 
advantages  to  be  gained  from  this  amusement. 

Full  control  of  the  whip  should  be  acquired  before  one 
begins  to  drive  at  all,  especially  in  four-in-hand  and  tandem 
work,  and  a  coachman  should  be  able  to  hit  any  horse,  off 
side  or  near,  within  a  foot  of  any  spot  at  which  he  aims. 
While  the  leaders  are  generally  touched  up  under  the  bars 
it  is  open  to  argument  whether  this  system  is  always  the  best, 
since  quite  frequently  a  fresh  or  raw  horse  may  "  cross- 
counter"  the  blow  and  a  kicking  scrape  may  be  provoked. 
Wheelers  should  always  be  struck  in  front  of  the  pad,  down 
the  shoulders  or  over  the  ears  if  attempting  to  kick. 

The  short-lashed  whip  for  single-  and  pair-horse  driving 
should  always  be  held  near  the  ferrule,  about  ten  inches  from 
the  butt  or  wherever  it  balances  best.  The  blow  is  never 
a  "flick,"  as  if  one  were  trying  to  crack  it,  but  a  drawing 


lOI 


DRIVING 

stroke  before  or  just  behind  the  pad ;  or  if  the  animal  is  sluggish 
a  sharp  blow  or  two  under  the  thigh,  with  a  jerk  of  the  wrist 
just  before  the  point  lands  will  punish  severely.  Constant 
tap-tapping  will  make  a  loafer  of  any  horse ;  the  implement 
when  used  should  be  applied  smartly  that  the  horse  may 
keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  instant  response  is  expected  and 
may  always  respond  promptly  to  even  the  mildest  touch. 
In  runabouts  and  road- wagons  of  all  sorts,  as  being  American 
vehicles,  correctness  of  detail  would  appear  to  render  com- 
pulsory the  use  of  the  straight  whip. 

The  four-in-hand  whip  should  be  light  and  should 
balance  well,  or  it  is  very  tiring  to  the  right  wrist,  and  nothing 
is  gained  by  mere  weight  of  stick  or  thong.  Double-thonged, 
it  is  a  tremendously  punishing  weapon,  and  applied  to  a 
refractory  wheeler  under  the  thigh  with  a  quick  wrist- jerk 
at  landing,  it  fairly  seems  to  lift  the  culprit  off  the  ground. 

One  should  be  able  to  catch  the  thong  even  with  the 
eyes  shut,  and  to  do  it  every  time ;  both  over  the  head,  which 
is  rather  a  useless  fashion,  as  it  takes  the  hand  momentarily 
too  far  away  from  the  reins,  and  is,  if  the  thong  be  missed, 
fatal  to  the  head  gear  of  passengers;  or  off  to  the  right  side 
which  is  neater  and  quieter.  A  mere  turn  of  the  wrist  is 
enough,  and  the  novice  should  never  watch  the  lash  or  he  is 
almost  sure  to  meet  it  with  the  stick  and  to  "  chop  "  into  the 
approaching  thong.  Make  as  if  to  throw  the  whip  away  to 
the  right  when  held  diagonally  across  the  body,  with  an 
upward  twist  of  the  wrist  like  a  reverse  letter  S;  stop  your 
wrist  as  the  stick  points  diagonally  to  the  right  and  the 
thong  will  fall  into  its  place,  a  slight  forward  motion  of  the 
wrist,  if  the  wind  is  in  your  face,  landing  the  wraps  of  the 
thong  well  forward  toward  the  quill.  Two  or  three  swings 
of  the  full  thong  the  reverse  way  before  catching  will  put 


I02 


1.  FOUR-IN-HAND,  DIAGONAL  TO  LEFT 
BY  DROPPING  HAND  TO  THIGH.  SAME 
WITH   ONE  OR  A   PAIR. 


2      FOUR-IN-HAND  PULL-UP.    (N.B.— POS- 
SIBLE     ONLY     WITH      LIGHT-MOUTHED 

HORSES.) 


3.     FOUR-IN-HAND.         DIAGONAL       TO 
RIGHT  BY  DROPPING  HAND  TO  THIGH. 


4.     RIGHT     POINT     BETWEEN      FIRST 
AMD  SECOND  FINGERS. 


HOLDING    REINS 

the  same  number  of  wraps  around  the  stick  just  at  your 
knuckles,  and  this  twist  in  the  lash  will  make  it  "  catch  and 
keep"  well,  while  the  thong  itself  becomes  more  formidable 
by  crossing  itself  just  at  the  point  where  you  wish  to  use  it 
on  your  wheel-horses.  Once  caught,  the  fingers  of  the  right 
hand  take  up  the  surplus  thong,  remove  the  reverse  coils 
at  the  ferrule  and  draw  the  thong  down  snugly,  either  straight 
or  with  a  few  turns  the  other  way;  the  left  thumb  and  fore- 
finger holding  the  stick  meanwhile. 

To  hit  your  leaders  effectively  consider  the  wmd- resistance, 
and  when  you  throw  your  thong  give  it  time  to  spin  fully 
out  before  putting  into  it  any  twist  or  taking  an  exact  aim. 
If  a  horse  needs  hitting  at  all,  it  is  better  to  hit  him  two  or 
three  times,  with  perhaps  increasing  severity  if  the  first 
blow  is  not  answered,  the  thong  being  recovered  by  a  jerk  of 
the  wrist,  which  brings  it  across  the  chest,  or  exactly  back  to 
the  fingers  when  expert;  or,  if  the  nigh  leader  is  aimed  at, 
the  thong  may  be  suffered  to  drop,  the  stick  being  carried 
across  the  body  and  the  trailing  lash  then  jerked  back  to  the 
hand.  This  is  not  necessary  and  always  soils  the  thong.  If 
the  double-thong  or  the  straight-thong  catch  in  the  harness, 
as  it  frequently  will  in  wet  weather,  give  it  a  chance  to  shake 
loose  and  do  not  haul  at  it,  or  you  may  break  something. 

Hitting  the  off  leader  is  easy ;  striking  the  near  is  rather 
hard  (at  least  without  including  in  the  castigation  the  near 
wheeler) ;  but  reaching  the  near  leader  from  the  off  side 
without  landing  on  any  other  horse  in  the  team  is  quite  a 
scientific  operation,  and  best  not  essayed  if  any  of  the  horses 
are  nervous  or  fretful.  It  is  a  mere  tour  de  force  at  best  and 
not  an  essential  accomplishment. 

Catching  a  reverse  thong  is  often  useful  when  under 
trees  or  other  obstructions,  and  this  is  done  by  simply  chopping 

103 


DRIVING 

down  into  the  thong  as  it  hangs.  The  result  and.  effect  are 
precisely  the  same,  and  it  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  just 
as  practical  as  the  accepted  fashion,  only  not  quite  so  showy. 
The  only  difference  is  that,  of  course,  the  thong  unwinds  the 
opposite  way. 

For  comfort  in  using  and  endurance  in  keeping  the  thong 
should  be  frequently  wiped  down  with  crown  soap  or  some  simi- 
lar material,  and  it  should  be  as  pliant  as  possible  throughout 
its  entire  length.  The  quill  and  its  splicings  should  be  kept 
in  the  best  order,  and  the  shape  of  the  whole  maintained  by 
carefiil  hanging  when  not  in  use.  Knots  in  the  stick  where 
the  double- thong  lies  are  of  no  special  value  as  keepers  if 
the  thong  is  thoroughly  pliant,  but  on  the  contrary  such 
excrescences  have  always   a  tendency  to  weaken  the  wood. 


104 


I.     SHORTENING     REINS;    LEFT    HAND 
SLIDING  UP 


■.-tvaNggggcMBgy- ' 


2.    LEFT  POINT  (LOOP  PARTLY  SHOWN). 
RIGHT  OPPOSITION  OVER  THUMB. 


3.     MAKING    LEFT    POINT,  OVERHAND 
CLUTCH. 


4.  SHORTENING  REINS  OR  PULL-UP 
CLUTCH.  LEFT  HAND  SLIDING  FOR- 
WARD TO  RIGHT. 


CHAPTER   XII 

DRIVING     FOR     LADIES 

The  equestrian  sports  of  driving  and  riding  have  attained 
popularity  which  is  not  confined  to  the  sterner  sex,  and  they 
number  among  their  most  ardent  devotees  and  scientific 
exponents  not  a  few  of  the  gentler  sex.  Properly  safe- 
guarded and  within  reasonable  limits,  there  can  exist  no 
reason  why  these  amusements  in  all  their  stages  of  develop- 
ment should  not  be  appropriate  to  and  well  within  the  pos- 
sibilities of  any  woman  of  average  health,  nerve  and  self- 
possession,  and  from  childhood  up  parents,  guardians  and 
male  relatives  generally  will  do  well  to  encourage  her  in  the 
enterprise — not  only  as  opening  to  her  a  wide  field  for  personal 
pleasure  and  the  possibility  of  affording  it  to  others,  but  as 
enhancing  her  ability  and  inclination  to  take  care  of  herself, 
to  form  habits  of  quick  decision,  and  to  assist  in  learning 
patience  and  the  control  of  the  temper. 

Safeguarded  she  must  be,  however,  as  well  in  practice  as 
by  precept,  and  as  the  first  and  most  important  step  to  this 
result  she  must  be  taught  thoroughly  every  detail  of  harness 
and  vehicle,  their  proper  relation  to  each  other  and  to  the 
motive  power,  the  horse;  she  must  also  be  accompanied  by 
a  man — not  a  mere  image  in  trousers,  or  boots  and  breeches, 
but  one  who  in  case  of  emergency  knows  what  to  do  and 
how  to  do  it.  The  unexpected  is  the  only  happening  that 
is  absolutely  certain  to  eventuate,  and  neglect  in  these 
particulars  has  been  the  cause  of  more  serious  and  fatal 
accidents  than  any  other.     Be  her  pride  what  it  will,  her 

105 


DRIVING 

confidence  what  it  may,  her  skill  preeminent,  she  is  fitted 
neither  by  garb,  nature  nor  habit  to  act  "  at  a  pinch  "  as  a 
man  can,  and  on  the  heads  of  her  wilfully  negligent  male 
relatives  be  it  if  she  is  suffered  to  go  unattended.  Were 
the  risk  hers  alone  and  individually,  perhaps  there  would 
be  little  reason  for  interfering,  especially  if  she  were  "free, 
white  and  twenty-one";  but  the  lives  and  limbs  of  others 
are  worthy  of  consideration,  and  worse  than  ridiculous  and 
ineffectual  are  excuses  which  are  feebly  offered  for  disasters 
which  should  have  been  foreseen  and  should,  therefore,  never 
have  occurred.  Helpless  children  not  unusually  form  a  por- 
tion of  her  accompaniment  in  her  meanderings,  and  to 
these,  even  if  not  to  their  foolhardy  elders,  some  measure 
of  protection  is  due;  or  to  the  general  public,  to  whom  she 
may  bring  injury  or  death,  if  the  worst  happens  and  some 
runaway  or  smash-up  occurs. 

The  average  woman  is  not  even  taught  how  to  dress 
suitably  for  such  amusements,  nor  how  to  use  the  slight 
strength  she  has,  nor  compelled  to  develop  still  further  the 
muscles  involved.  A  woman's  gloves  are  generally  too  tight, 
or,  if  they  are  of  the  liberal  dimensions  needful,  they,  by 
buttoning  tightly  at  the  wrist,  are  as  cramping  in  effect  as 
if  they  were  small  everywhere.  Again,  a  woman  is  never 
taught  to  shut  her  hands  tight  and  to  keep  them  shut;  and 
nine  times  out  of  ten  she  has  no  knowledge  of  how  to  handle 
her  whip,  but  uses  it  with  a  "  flick,"  or  sort  of  snap,  which  old 
Billy,  who  has  put  up  with  feminine  vagaries  for  years,  may 
stoically  tolerate,  but  which  any  strange  or  high-strung  nag 
is  not  unlikely  to  resent  by  summarily  kicking  the  outfit  to 
bits  and  hurling  her  into  the  road.  She  is  usually  intolerant 
of  the  variation,  in  any  steed,  from  ancient  William's  sedate 
and  phlegmatic  manners,  and  but  too  apt  to  attribute  any 

io6 


A  CONVENIENT  CHAISE 


tf- 


A   LAlJVS   l'iIAET(.)i\ 


DRIVING   FOR   LADIES 

untoward  occurrences  to  the  horse's  evil  disposition  and  the 
machinations  of  the  man  who  sold,  let  or  lent  him  to  her. 
It  is  perfectly  true  that  the  highways  and  byways  are  full 
of  living  demonstrations  to  the  effect  that  horses  are  driven 
safely  by  women  daily,  perpetually  and  amid  all  kinds  of 
varying  and  terrifying  traffic,  but  these  incidents  must  be 
classed  with  those  marvels  of  nature  with  which  Providence 
provides  us  glimpses  on  every  hand,  and  are  material  addi- 
tions to  those  "seven  wonders  of  the  world"  of  which  we 
have  heard  so  much  and  seen  so  little. 

Were  the  average  woman  to  drive  all  the  year  round,  so 
that  hand  and  nerve  were  always  in  training,  and  were  she 
always  able-bodied  and  athletically  inclined,  affairs  would 
be  different.  The  summer  solstice,  however,  is  the  favourite 
period  for  this  pastime,  and  then  papa  or  brother  Tom  or 
other  relative  or  friend  commits  himself  to  the  hands  of  the 
private  dealer  or  the  public  auctioneer  and  acquires,  in 
exchange  for  satisfactory  equivalent  in  the  shekels  of  the 
realm,  a  steed  "warranted"  in  every  way  and  to  whom  the 
words  of  D.  Harum,  Esq.,  "A  woman  can  drive  him  as 
well  as  a  man,"  are  glibly  applied.  This  description  the 
vender  believes  to  be  reliable,  since  the  animal  is  all  that  in 
his  hands,  and  the  fact  that  he  is  going  to  prove  utterly 
unmanageable  and  dangerous  under  Mary's  intermittent 
guidance  and  discipline  never  enters  his  head;  so  that  he  is 
generally  ashamed  and  dismayed  when  the  disaster  which 
she  is  allowed  to  court  overtakes  her. 

No  woman  can  "afford"  to  keep  a  horse  who  cannot 
also  afford  a  capable  and  presentable  servant  to  attend  her 
—that  is,  unless  she  possesses  hordes  of  able-bodied  and 
equally  capable  brothers  who,  brotherlike  (?),  are  always 
delighted  to  dance  attendance  upon  their  sister.     By  "  afford  " 

107 


DRIVING 

is  not  meant  the  pecuniary  ability  to  purchase  alone,  but 
the  avoidance  of  possible  accidents  carelessly  tempted. 
Properly  supervised  and  instructed,  her  possibilities  are 
great,  but  not  otherwise. 

Most  women  play  the  piano,  and  any  one  who  has  a 
delicate  touch  on  that  instrument  is  sure  to  handle  the 
horse's  mouth  in  the  same  way.  The  deftest  touch  can 
produce  wondrous  boomings  from  the  base  and  prodigiously 
brilliant  effects  from  the  coruscations  of  rattling  sharps  and 
fiats.  "Hands"  on  a  horse's  mouth  in  the  same  way  are 
(or  is)  not  that  feeble  manipulation  which  is  so  generally 
accepted  as  such,  but  that  instinctive  yielding  and  returning, 
pressing  and  loosening  which  may  in  time  of  need  be  hard, 
rough  and  compelling,  yet  still  remains  "hands"  in  their  (or 
its)  best  development.  A  woman  succeeds  wonderfully 
with  many  headstrong  horses  in  that  she  handles  them  in 
this  way,  and  does  not  fight  them  and  never  provokes  a 
quarrel  as  a  man  habitually  does.  Her  sensibility  and 
sympathy  are  her  birthright,  and  her  tendencies  in  these 
respects  lead  her  to  yield  in  many  of  the  immaterial  little 
points  which  make  all  the  difference  between  harmony  and 
discord  in  running  the  equine  scale. 

While  absolute  safety,  kindness  and  fearlessness  are 
the  first  essentials  for  a  woman's  horse,  they  are  not  the 
only  requisites.  They,  the  mental,  are  important;  but  certain 
of  the  physical  are  no  less  so.  Such  a  horse  must  arch  well 
his  neck  (not  for  looks,  but  for  comfort  to  the  driver),  thus 
yielding  readily  his  head  and  mouth;  and  that  mouth  must 
be  pliant  and  level.  He  must  be  sure-footed,  for  no  woman 
can  hold  him  up  if  he  makes  a  really  bad  blunder  (nor  can 
a  man,  for  that  matter).  He  must  be  of  moderate  size,  as 
suited  more  perfectly  to  the  average  lady's  trap.     He  must 

108 


14 

2d 


DRIVING  FOR  LADIES 

be  free  and  active,  not  a  dull  pig  of  a  beast.  He  must  "go 
where  he  looks,  and  look  where  he  goes, "  as  the  dealers  say; 
he  must  be  of  a  dark  colour,  as  not  defiling  a  dainty  toilet 
with  his  hairs  and  he  must  be  at  least  fairly  good  looking 
and  stylish.  Whether  there  is  one,  two  or  four  of  him  the 
same  remarks  apply  to  all,  and  generally  his  utility  is  in 
inverse  ratio  to  his  size. 

There  is  nothing  unladylike  in  being  able  to  put  on  and 
put  together  every  part  of  the  harness — on  the  contrary, 
one's  proper  pride  should  compel  not  only  the  acquisition, 
but  frequent  rehearsal,  of  this  knowledge.  You  take  interest 
in  the  fit  of  your  gowns ;  why  not  in  the  clothes  of  your  horse  ? 
Certainly,  if  you  do  not,  you  are  never  to  be  trusted  for  a 
moment  alone.  The  process  is  neither  complicated  nor 
disagreeable,  and  if  it  is  worth  while  to  practise  years  to 
learn  to  play  the  piano,  surely  it  is  worth  a  few  hours' 
investigation  to  understand  the  toilet  of  your  cob. 

Driving  tandem  and  four-in-hand  have  never  seemed 
quite  appropriate  for  a  lady's  undertaking — unless  she 
invariably  has  a  man  on  the  box  beside  her.  Alone  on  the 
driver's  seat  with  two  grooms  behind  she  is  not  to  be  easily 
succored  if  accident  befall — and  while  horses  may  go  all 
right  for  three  hundred  and  sixty-four  days,  they  may 
perpetrate  any  outrage  on  the  next.  A  woman  is  not  apt 
to  give  up  if  she  finds  herself  overmatched  until  too  late, 
when  strength  and  presence  of  mind  are  both  gone,  and 
nowhere  does  this  seem  as  suddenly  or  so  completely  to  happen 
as  on  the  box,  nor  is  any  sensation  or  realisation  more  wholly 
terrifying  and  disconcerting.  Such  a  trifle  may  make  all 
the  trouble,  it  comes  to  a  head  so  instantly — almost  with- 
out warning — and  is  generally  so  serious  when  it  occurs. 
An  annoying  fly,  a  tight  back- strap  or  check,  a  touch  of  the 

log 


DRIVING 

lead-bars,  a  suddenly  turned  vehicle  in  front,  any  startling 
sound  or  sight — and  the  thing  is  not  doing  but  done.  Male 
relatives  who  allow  this  amusement  unsafeguarded  are  either 
astoundingly  confident  in  their  horses  and  in  the  ability  of 
the  fair  driver  or  culpably  negligent  of  her  life  and  of  the 
lives  of  Others, 


tio 


y. 

C 


CHAPTER   XIII 

BITS     AND     BITTING 

The  matter  of  bitting  the  heavy-harness  horse  has  not 
as  yet  in  any  country  received  the  attention  and  the  intelHgent 
consideration  that  is  justly  due  so  important  a  detail.  More 
or  less  has  been  written  concerning  the  manipulation  of  the 
saddle-horse  and  hunter,  but  in  harness  ma,tters  there  is 
much  to  be  discussed,  and  the  proper  adjustment  of  the  bits, 
etc.,  is,  in  these  days  of  forced  and  extravagant  action,  hurried 
education  and  heavy-handed  drivers,  an  extremely  delicate 
operation,  and  worthy  all  the  strength  of  argument  and 
observation  we  can  bring  to  bear  upon  it. 

We  are  prone,  when  we  undertake  to  "mouth"  the 
heavy-harness  horse,  to  at  once  "  overbit "  him,  and  to  carry 
the  process  to  a  needlessly  severe  and  even  cruel  extent. 
When  we  adopt  in  addition  the  modem  and  regrettable  fad 
for  severely  gag-checking  him,  the  ensuing  discomfort  and 
even  agony  to  the  poor  brute  may  be  approximately  imagined. 
That  horses  balk,  rear,  kick  and  throw  themselves  both 
during  this  educational  process  and  afterward  as  well,  if 
occurrence  awakens  painful  recollection,  is  little  to  be 
wondered  at. 

Did  you  ever  weigh  a  pair  of  ordinary  driving- reins  ? 
Have  you  ever  figured  out  the  "foot-pounds,"  to  use  a 
mechanical  term,  which  the  mere  weight  of  the  reins  from 
your  hands  to  your  horse's  jaw  represents  in  pressure  upon 
that  most  sensitive  and  delicately  constructed  surface  ?  Will 
you  not  go  to  the  stable,  open  your  favourite's  mouth  and 

III 


DRIVING 

examine  that  marvellously  constructed  membrane,  as  thin 
and  delicate  as  tissue-paper  and  full  of  the  most  sensitive 
nerves,  upon  which  the  bit  rests,  and  the  jaw-bone  upon 
which  the  curb-chain  falls,  barely  covered  with  the  thinnest 
skin  ?  Surely,  afterward  you  can  but  take  the  deepest 
personal  interest  in  the  matter  of  comfortable  and  humane 
bitting,  and  certainly  you  will  refrain  from  ever  jerking  a 
rein  or  even  suddenly  moving  the  bits  lest  you  hurt  a  surface 
so  delicate  and  cause  pain  to  an  animal  so  patient  and  so 
humbly  anxious  to  please. 

No  horse  was  ever  bom  a  puller,  and  every  such  a  one 
has  been  made  and  educated  in  his  fault  by  ignorant  or 
careless  and  cruel  handling.  Physical  malformation — as 
narrow  jaws,  thick  necks  and  heavy  forehands — renders 
some  animals  less  amenable  to  easy  control  than  others  and 
prevents  the  acquirement  of  the  conventionally  accepted 
arched  neck  and  perpendicular  face.  Such  horses  can  yield 
only  in  a  slight  measure,  and  persistence  in  attempting  to 
force  upon  them  the  impossible  can  have  but  one  result, 
and  make  them  pullers,  possibly  of  a  desperate  and  scientific 
type.  Attacked  by  the  severe  bit  and  tight  chain  in  an 
increasingly  severe  manner,  forced  up  to  this  torture  by  the 
whip  in  the  mistaken  attempt  to  make  them  bend  them- 
selves, they  quickly  find  that  if  they  pull  hard  enough  for 
a  few  moments  the  ligature  of  chain  about  the  jaw  will  destroy 
all  sensation,  and  they  figure  out  that  of  the  evils  confronting 
them  this  is  the  least.  Or  they  catch  the  arm  of  the  bit 
with  the  lip  or  the  nippers,  and  prevent  thereby  the  chain 
from  having  its  full  effect  (this,  of  course,  cannot  be  done 
with  the  "elbow  bit").  Persistent  efforts  to  overcome  their 
stubbornness  (?)  meet  with  scientific  resistance,  and  finally 
one  has  an  accomplished  puller  on  hand,  who  can  defy  any 


112 


BITS   AND  BITTING 

combination  of  appliances  to  make  him  drive  comfortably, 
and  who  has  acquired  his  proficiency  through  a  thorough 
tutoring  in  the  most  appropriate  methods  of  resisting  control. 

That  these  results  do  not  oftener  obtain  appears,  on 
reflection,  astounding,  when  one  realises  that  we  drive  every 
height,  weight  and  shape  of  heavy-harness  horse  in  bits  of 
one  and  the  same  pattern.  Occasionally  a  "port"  is  made 
on  the  mouthpiece  and  the  cheeks  are  varied  in  shape  a 
trifle;  the  mouthpiece  may  be  larger  or  smaller,  and 
smooth  upon  both  sides  or  only  one,  but  with  these  immaterial 
variations  every  equine,  from  the  eleven-hand  pony  to  the 
seven  teen-hand  coach  horse,  is  expected  to  go  pleasantly, 
lightly  and  cheerfully  in  one  and  the  same  bit,  and  that, 
generally,  too  wide  for  his  mouth,  improperly  placed  and 
roughly  handled !  Truly,  we  are  fortunate  in  not  receiving 
more  generally  the  reprisals  which  are  justly  our  due. 

The  American  light-harness  horse  has,  as  a  rule,  a 
wonderfully  pliant  and  pleasant  mouth,  and  carries 
himself  like  a  gentleman  at  all  paces  and  in  all  places. 
His  manners  and  general  docility  and  good  temper  are  the 
marvel  of  all  foreigners  who  come  in  contact  with  him,  and 
have  won  for  him  the  high  esteem  in  which,  world-wide, 
he  is  held  to-day.  To  this  result  nothing  has  so  successfully 
contributed  as  the  intelligent  and  humane  methods  evolved 
by  our  trainers  and  handlers  for  bitting  and  mouthing  the 
trotting-bred  horse,  and  the  success  accruing  is  an  eloquent 
tribute  to  their  progressive  and  wide-awake  systems.  In 
heavy  harness  we  use  practically  the  very  same  bits  which 
were  in  vogue  a  hundred  years  ago,  and  the  entire  harness, 
indeed,  is  virtually  identical — yet  we  gravely  discuss  appoint- 
ments and  develop  overpowering  fads  in  relation  to  it, 
endeavouring  to  faithfully  reproduce  the  general  effect  of 

"3 


DRIVING 

equipages  long  ago  in  vogue,  and  while  elaborately  arguing 
pro  and  con,  clips  here  and  rivets  there,  buttons  yonder 
and  rosettes  nearby,  overlook  entirely  the  vital  defect  in 
our  "  steering  gear "  by  adhering  to  the  same  bits  as  our 
great-granddaddies  used  and  abused.  We  demand  electric 
machinery  to  handle  the  rudders  of  our  vessels,  yet  steer 
our  horses,  so  to  speak,  with  a  "jury-rig"  bit! 

Visit  a  trotting-trainer's  or  colt-breaker's  stable  and  you 
will  find  that  he  has  bits  in  great  variety;  that  he  fits  them 
carefully  and  snugly;  that  he  anxiously  experiments  with 
each  individual  until  he  learns  just  what  suits  him;  that  he 
forces  his  horse  to  keep  his  mouth  closed  and  his  tongue 
under  the  bit;  that  he  can  readily,  and  with  one  hand,  drive 
any  of  his  charges  in  a  "figure  eight"  of  small  dimensions; 
that  they  back  at  a  touch,  stand  at  a  word,  and  turn 
at  a  pressure  very  slightly  given;  that,  in  short,  they  are,  and 
will  remain  while  bitted  as  he  bits  them,  pleasant,  light- 
mouthed  animals,  a  comfort  to  drive  and  a  pleasure  to  own. 

His  bits  are  all  snaffles — various  in  form  and  attachments 
" — but  units  in  that  they  are  comfortable  and  attain  their 
effects  not  by  punishment,  but  by  frustrating  the  various 
idiosyncrasies  of  their  wearers.  Jointed,  straight,  leather, 
rubber,  pneumatic,  chin-strapped,  jaw-strapped,  overchecked, 
side-checked,  etc.,  in  endless  variety  of  combination,  they 
effectually  combat  the  vagaries  of  even  the  most  persistent. 

Of  all  details  of  the  heavy  harness,  the  nose-band  is  the 
most  important  and  the  least  considered.  Intended  as  a 
most  efficient  aid  to  the  handling  of  the  animal,  it  has 
been  allowed  by  the  carelessness  of  the  harness-maker  and 
the  ignorance  of  the  amateur  owner  and  horse  fancier  to 
degenerate  into  a  mere  ornament,  and,  as  usually  supplied 
to-day,  it  is  placed  so  high  upon  the  nose  that  some  of  its 

114 


/^. 


y. 

w 
o 

Pi 


w 
p 

c 


[J 
c 


BITS   AND    BITTING 

power  is  lost,  and  is  so  constructed  that  it  can  rarely  be 
made,  even  after  a  liberal  use  of  the  harness-punch,  to  fit 
snugly  and  yet  comfortably,  or,  when  tightened,  to  fulfil  its 
ofhce  of  keeping  the  jaws  closed.  If  we  use  this  instrument 
at  all  we  usually  wait  until  the  fault  has  been  committed. 
The  horse  has  learned  that  by  opening  his  mouth  he  may 
escape  partly  the  effect  of  the  bit,  and  an  idea  has  been 
allowed  to  enter  his  brain  which  should  never  have  found 
lodgment  therein.  From  the  very  first  every  horse's  mouth 
should  be  nose-banded,  as  should  every  colt's,  and  were  this 
always  done  "  tongue-loUers "  and  those  which  open  the 
mouth  widely  would  be  unknown.  We  forget  that  the 
whole  plan  of  horse  education  is  based  upon  the  principle 
of  deceiving  the  horse  as  to  his  powers  and  ability  to  resist 
our  demands  upon  him,  and  that  results  are  in  proportion 
to  our  skill  in  thus  hoodwinking  him  by  methods  which  we 
should  actively  resent  in  relation  to  ourselves.  Thus,  if  an 
animal  is  never  allowed  to  open  his  mouth  when  bridled,  it 
will  never  occur  to  him  to  do  so — just  as  your  properly 
halter-broken  colt  will  stand  when  tied  with  a  string,  or  the 
bronco  will  remain  immovable  if  the  bridle-reins  be  thrown 
over  his  head.  In  the  same  way  when  the  light-harness 
horse  is  about  to  assume  the  duties  of  the  more  fashionable 
"heavy  leather"  and  face  his  new  style  of  bit,  he  should  be 
nose-banded  from  the  first  and  never  allowed  to  get  away 
from — or  "behind" — it,  and  it  will  be  found  that,  like 
Kipling's  engine,  he  "finds  himself"  much  more  quickly 
thus  caparisoned. 

The  nose-band  properly  secured  will  allow  any  horse 
to  be  much  more  lightly  bitted,  and  with  it  the  half-check 
and  rather  slack  chain  prove  as  effective  as  the  middle  bar; 
or,  if  more  power  is  required,  the  bit  may  be  dropped  or 

"5 


DRIVING 

elevated,  the  chain  tightened,  loosened,  roughed  or  smoothed, 
or  chamois-covered,  the  bit  itself  perhaps  rubber  or  leather- 
covered,  but  the  reins  always  in  the  half-check  to  the  last 
gasp,  or  the  equivalent  alternative  adopted  of  using  a  "port" 
bit.  The  middle  bar  is  rarely  necessary  and  the  lower  bar 
never;  in  fact,  the  latter  is  not  inappropriately  named  the 
"duffer's  hole"  or  the  "deckhand's  refuge,"  and  if  seen  to 
be  in  use  the  jehu  may  be,  if  a  professional,  safely  set  down 
as  the  gardener  acting  as  an  understudy  for  an  invalid 
coachman,  or,  if  an  amateur,  as  Mr.  Tyro,  a  near  relation  to 
the  celebrated  Indian  chieftain,  Young-Man-Afraid-of-His- 
Horses !  The  "  lower  bar "  is  an  invention  of  the  Old  Boy 
himself,  and  its  abuse,  upon  which  those  Society  for  Preven- 
tion of  Cruelty  to  Animals  agents  placidly  gaze  every  day 
in  every  city,  inflicts  more  suffering  than  all  the  "burrs" 
over  which  the  society  goes  into  uncontrollable  hysterics. 

A  horse's  bit  should  fit  him  and  be  as  wholly  his  as  his 
collar  or  his  shoes,  and  there  is  no  possible  excuse  for  any 
other  course.  As  part  of  his  "clothes"  it  is  your  duty  and 
should  be  your  pride  to  see  that  the  measures  are  exact. 
As  commonly  made,  bits  are  too  long,  and  not  a  few  are  an 
inch  or  more  in  excess  of  the  width  of  the  mouth.  This 
extra  width  should  be  taken  up  by  leather  "  cheeks, "  if  one 
does  not  care  to  invest  in  new  bits,  and  a  supply  of  these 
leather  disks  should  always  be  on  hand  in  the  harness-room 
or  in  the  pocket,  that  they  may  be  slipped  on  if  necessary, 
and  also  because  one  may  come  upon  a  brute  which  lunges 
or  bores  awkwardly  about  or  drives  upon  one  rein,  and  if 
he  has  ever  worn  a  "burr"  to  correct  these  habits  the 
application  of  a  plain  leather  cheek  may  keep  it  in  mind 
that  the  "burr"  was  uncomfortable  if  leaned  upon,  and  this 
reminder  may  keep  him  up  in  his  place. 

ii6 


BITS   AND    BITTING 

The  mere  dropping  of  the  bit  for  a  hole  or  two,  or  its 
elevation  by  the  same  distance,  sometimes  works  wonders, 
and  it  is  also  a  fact  that  many  an  animal  which  gets  its 
tongue  over  the  bit  persistently  when  it  is  pulled  up  high  in 
the  mouth  will  never  try  to  do  so  when  it  is  dropped  very 
low,  and  it  can  be  run  both  sides  at  pleasure,  the  reason 
being  that  it  affords  a  cushion  for  the  bit  to  lie  upon,  and 
when  this  rests  in  a  new  place  the  sensitiveness  of  the  bars 
renders  this  protection  comfortable  and  necessary.  Try 
this  on  your  "  tongue-lollers  "  and  see  if  most  of  them  do  not 
abate  the  nuisance  if  thus  arranged. 

It  would  seem  perfectly  possible  and  practical  to  apply 
to  the  Liverpool  and  "  elbow  "  bits,  now  so  generally  accepted 
as  the  best  shapes  for  heavy-harness  work,  the  jointed 
mouthpiece  of  the  plain  snaffle,  or  at  least  to  curve  the 
mouthpiece  now  used  that  the  action  upon  the  bars,  etc., 
might  be  more  direct  and  less  disconcerting.  The  ordinary 
shape  produces  an  effect  most  confusing  to  the  "green" 
horse,  since  as  we  pull  upon  one  rein  and  produce  a  pressure 
upon  the  lower  jaw  of  one  side  we  make  a  corresponding 
impression  upon  the  upper  jaw  of  the  other,  and  the  animal's 
amazement  at  these  contradictory  signals  is  plainly  evidenced 
by  his  delay  in  responding  or  in  complying  at  all.  This  the 
jointed  or  curved  shapes  would  prevent,  and  the  effect  would 
be  almost  precisely  like  that  of  the  ordinary  light-harness 
bits.  Another  effect  of  the  pressure  upon  the  upper  jaw, 
where  the  overdraw  check  bit  has  always  rested,  is  to  make 
the  animal  elevate  his  nose  as  he  has  always  been  forced  to 
do.  To  this  the  effect  of  the  curb-chain  adds,  since  hitherto 
the  chin-strap  of  light-harness  days  was  always  associated 
with  the  overdraw  check  and  meant  "  Hold  up ! "  while  now 
the  animal  has  to  learn  that  it  means  "  Hold  down  ! " — nor 

117 


DRIVING 

is  he  permitted  to  figure  this  out  by  degrees,  but  instant 
compHance  is  demanded  of  him,  and  he  is  forced  by  whip 
and  voice  forward  against  a  bit  that  gives  as  many  contrary 
signals  as  a  raw  soldier  with  a  "  wig- wag"  signal  flag,  bruising 
terribly  his  tender,  sensitive  bars,  and  not  improbably  laying 
the  foundation  for  deep-seated  injuries  to  the  jawbone,  only 
to  be  relieved  by  the  sloughing  of  the  lacerated  parts  or 
severe  surgical  operations. 

A  heavy  covering  of  leather,  or  preferably  of  rubber, 
acts  well,  and  the  thicker  such  a  bit  is  the  better.  Many  a 
determined  puller  will  "let  go"  the  moment  he  finds  he  is 
not  to  be  hurt  and  comes  into  his  bridle  as  well  as  any  horse. 
Others  do  not  fancy  the  taste  of  flannel  or  cloth  and  go  pleas- 
antly in  a  bit  frequently  or  daily  recovered  with  it.  The 
tongue  must,  of  course,  be  kept  under  the  bit  in  some  way, 
even  if  it  has  to  be  tied  down,  for  no  horse  who  persistently 
carries  it  above  the  iron  is  safe  in  heavy  leather.  A  long 
and  wide  "port"  made  of  leather  may  be  sewn  upon  the 
mouthpiece,  but  generally  if  just  the  right  spot  is  found  for 
the  resting  place  of  the  mouthpiece  there  will  be  no  trouble 
from  this  source. 

Driving  upon  one  rein  is  an  annoying  fault  which  arises 
generally  from  sharp  and  neglected  teeth  (wolf -teeth) — the 
fact  that  the  animal  has  been  injured  upon  the  side  with 
which  he  pulls;  that  he  has  worked,  closely  coupled,  in 
double  harness;  or  that  he  has  successfully  resisted  efforts 
to  turn  him  in  a  certain  direction  and  acquired  a  stiffness 
upon  that  side ;  or  that  some  physical  defect  makes  it  painful 
for  him  to  progress  otherwise.  The  operation  of  "suppling" 
such  an  animal  all  over  again  is  tedious,  and,  at  his  probable 
age,  very  difficult,  and  horses  are  too  plentiful  to  make  it 
worth  while  to  try.     Experiment  will  sometimes  discover  a 

ii8 


BITS   AND   BITTING 

way  to  change  his  manners,  and  he  must  never  be  allowed 
to  really  take  hold  of  you,  but  be  handled  with  a  very  light 
touch  that  is  never  steady;  governed  and  turned  by  a  series 
of  light  and  almost  imperceptible  pulls,  which  allow  him, 
as  it  were,  nothing  to  brace  against,  and  are  constantly 
varying  in  both  force  and  duration,  so  that  he  never  knows 
what  is  coming  next;  driving  circles  to  each  hand  and  "  figure 
eights"  occasionally  if  circumstances  allow,  and  shifting  his 
bits  and  their  placings  constantly. 

There  is  no  reason  whatever  for  our  steadfast  allegiance 
to  the  accepted  shapes  of  harness  bits,  and  but  that  we  have 
all  fallen  victims  to  the  craze  for  so-called  "correctness" 
we  should  long  ago  more  generally  have  recognised  the  virtues 
of  various  forms  of  others.  In  fact,  it  is  by  no  means 
certain  that  we  are  right  in  controlling  the  horse  by  the 
bars  of  the  mouth,  and  the  contrary  is  susceptible  of  demon- 
stration. Various  contrivances  acting  upon  other  portions 
of  the  jaw  and  face  have  been  tried  and  patented,  but  have 
naturally  found  little  favour.  One  was  called  a  "facial 
muscle"  bit,  and  consisted  of  two  long  arms  (connected  by 
a  bar  passing  under  the  chin)  which  passed  up  inside  the 
cheeks  and  next  the  teeth,  the  mouth  itself  being  empty. 
It  is  a  fact  that  a  number  of  desperate  pullers  were  overcome 
by  this  arrangement,  since  they  had  nothing  to  take  hold 
upon — although  whether  this  effect  was  lasting  is  not 
recorded.  Other  arrangements  acted  upon  the  nose  and 
face,  but  one  and  all  found  violent  opposition,  provoked 
much  derision,  and  passed  into  obscurity,  their  practical 
value  quite  unexploited,  if,  indeed,  they  had  any  such  merit. 

Of  course,  to  be  successful,  any  system  of  bitting  must 
be  accompanied  by  suitable  manipulation  and  the  possession 
of  "hands"  in  delicate  development  upon  the  part  of  the 

119 


DRIVING 

tutor.  Such  "  hands  "  are  really,  after  all,  two-thirds  of  the 
whole  business.  The  value  of  a  theory  consists  in  the  com- 
petent application  of  it  in  practice,  and  a  "poor  mechanic 
always  finds  fault  with  his  tools. "  The  driver  who  is 
eternally  altering  couplings,  bits,  etc.,  either  does  not  himself 
know  what  he  wants  and  is  trying  to  do,  or  else  is  "playing 
to  the  gallery."  To  the  good  man  they  "all  look  alike," 
and  while  he  will  find  that  some  go  more  pleasantly  than 
others,  he  will  get  along  at  least  uncomplainingly  with 
anything  that  wears  horsehair,  and  that  with  the  least 
noticeable  effort. 

Pace  has  a  lot  to  do  with  mouth  and  manners,  and 
equine  peculiarities  in  this  respect  must  be  considered  or 
no  system  of  bitting  will  prove  effective.  Your  judgment 
in  this  respect  is  not  infallible,  and  your  horse  is  entitled 
to  his  opinion  on  the  matter,  which  you  will  do  well  to  heed 
if  you  are  to  continue  amicable  relations.  Thus  your 
preference  may  be  for  a  very  leisurely  exit  from  the  stable 
and  a  walk  or  very  slow  jog  over  the  stones  and  asphalt  to 
the  park.  Your  horse,  however,  is  fresh  or  nervous  at  some 
strange  noises,  or  "jumpy,"  as  you  sometimes  feel  yourself 
after  a  long  night,  too  many  cigars,  and  that  last  "high 
ball"  you  did  not  need.  He  wants  to  go  on,  and,  after  the 
fashion  of  tyrannical  man,  you  insist  that  he  shall  go  your 
pace.  You  pull,  he  pulls,  and  he  makes  a  discovery  hitherto 
possibly  unknown  to  him — that  you  are  not  omnipotent  and 
need  not  be  implicitly  obeyed.  This  trouble  of  your  own 
seeking  results  not  improbably  in  your  discomfiture.  It 
irritates  many  a  horse  to  be  restrained  for  the  first  half- 
mile  or  so,  and  he  is  disagreeable  all  day  if  interfered  with, 
charming  if  humoured.  Hunting  men  all  recognise  this 
peculiarity  in  the  eager  hunter,  and  it  is  exactly  as  usual 

I20 


BITS    AND    BITTING 

in  the  harness  horse,  but,  in  his  case,  combatted  vigorously. 
Mutual  pleasure  and  good-will  depend  upon  mutual 
concessions,  but  the  horse  must  not  suspect  the  privileges 
allowed,  for  there  can  be  but  one  master,  and  you  must 
maintain  that  position. 

While  we  speak  of  a  horse's  "mouth"  being  made,  and 
of  the  pressure  upon  the  bars  as  the  all-important  element 
in  directing  his  progress,  we  overlook  entirely  the  main  factor 
— the  tongue — and  its  duties,  not  only  as  a  cushion,  but  as 
a  means,  through  its  sensitiveness,  of  conveying  the 
indications  of  our  hands.  That  it  is  this  organ  to  which 
we  must  attribute  nearly  all  the  sensitiveness  of  the  animal's 
mouth  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  if  it  gets  over  the  bit 
control  is  at  once  minimised  or  entirely  lost.  This  elastic 
cushion  it  is  which  is  constantly  in  play  to  lessen  the  effects 
of  sudden  pulls,  and  by  the  stiffening  of  its  muscles  to  yield 
just  the  proper  amount  of  resistance  or  compliance.  No 
system  of  bitting  is  complete  which  does  not  pay  special 
attention  to  the  tongue. 

The  difficulties  of  bitting  are  accentuated  when  we 
drive  horses  in  varying  combination — as  in  pairs,  fours,  etc. 
Length  of  body  and  of  neck  need  due  consideration  in  coupling 
a  pair,  and  the  diverse  natural  carriage  of  the  heads  must 
be  allowed  for.  Much  trouble  is  caused  by  oversight  in 
this  particular,  and  horses  fret,  pull,  sulk  and  wear  out  very 
quickly  when  wrongly  put-to.  The  short-necked  horse, 
if  the  freest,  will  pull  hard,  and  the  lengthier  mate  will  be 
equally  inconvenienced,  while  many  a  long,  loose-necked 
horse  has  had  to  suiffer  agony  and  finally  be  made  a  puller 
because  his  short-necked  mate,  coupled  evenly  with  him, 
could  by  no  anatomical  means  come  up  to  the  level  of  his 
comrade's  mouth ;  while  the  former's  length  of  body  in  similar 

121 


DRIVING 

cases  caused  him  always  to  appear  behind  in  his  work  and  to 
be  overdriven  in  consequence.  Length  of  traces  and  of  pole- 
straps  have  almost  as  much  to  do  with  proper  "  putting 
together"  as  coupling,  bitting  and  checking.  Fully  one- 
third  of  the  stress  of  any  bitting  where  the  curb-chain  is 
brought  into  play  falls  upon  the  horse's  poll,  as  the  angle 
of  headstall,  bit  and  rein  shows,  and  beyond  a  few  crude 
manipulations  we  make  little  effort  to  really  bit  a  horse, 
but  class  him  as  well-mannered  or  a  puller  according  as 
accident  or  his  temper  displays  his  qualities.  No  puller 
was  ever  born,  and  there  is  always  a  reason,  anatomical  or 
spiritual,  for  this  defect  in  any  horse — generally  anatomical. 
Such  an  unconsidered  trifle  as  the  angle  formed  between 
the  mouth  and  the  hames-terrets  does  not  suit  every  horse; 
and  if  the  reader  will  stop  to  think  he  will  probably  recall 
horses  that  drove  comfortably  in  a  breast-plate  or  Dutch 
collar  (without  terrets),  yet  never  studied  the  reason.  We 
try  to  make  any  bit  fit  ( ?)  any  mouth,  yet  half  of  them  are 
too  wide  or  too  narrow  for  their  wearers.  Many  bits  are 
worn  too  high,  others  too  low.  Many  chains  are  acutely 
painful,  and  straps  or  a  chamois  covering  will  work  wonders. 
There  is  a  certain  bit  for  every  horse,  and  it  is  your  duty 
to  discover  and  supply  it.  Rubber  or  leather  coverings  are 
essential  to  some,  and  they  will  pull  furiously  at  anything 
else  in  order  to  deaden  their  mouths  and  escape  the  torture 
they  feel  or  fear.  Changing  the  balance  by  various  ways 
of  shoeing  greatly  helps  some  horses  and  enables  them 
to  find  their  centre  of  gravity  without  leaning  upon  the 
driver's  hand;  and  others  are  unbalanced  in  two-wheeled 
vehicles  yet  go  evenly  in  those  with  four.  Altogether,  a 
queer-tempered,  hard-pulling  horse  affords  a  rich  field  for 
study  in  the  effort  to  overcome  his  peculiarities,  and  there. 


122 


BITS   AND   BITTING 

is  no  better  school  for  the  ambitious  beginner — or  experienced 
coachman,  for  that  matter — than  that  of  trying  to  circumvent 
his  idiosyncrasies. 

Good  mouths  and  competent  bitting,  then,  depend  as 
much  upon  ways  as  upon  means — upon  methods  as  upon 
instruments.  The  simpler  these  are  the  better,  and  the 
gist  of  the  whole  matter  is  that  the  mouth  must  be  kept 
closed  and  the  tongue  in  place  from  the  beginning,  and  that 
every  effort  must  be  made  by  delicate  handling  and  com- 
fortable arrangement  to  put  the  animal  as  much  at  ease  as 
possible,  to  humour  his  vagaries  where  practical,  and  to 
control  him  always  by  the  most  direct  and  simplest  possible 
combination  of  bits  and  bitting. 


133 


CHAPTER  XIV 


APPOINTMENTS 


Correct  appointment  may  be  defined  as  genuine  har- 
mony of  detail  and  outline,  quietness  of  colour  and  orna- 
mentation, and  appropriateness  of  animal,  vehicle  and  equip- 
ment in  every  essential,  resulting  in  the  perfection  of  good 
taste,  inconspicuous  in  every  point,  yet  competent  for  the 
purpose  intended.  Thus  "turned  out"  one  is  correct  beyond 
dispute,  and  some  day  we  shall  recognise  this,  and  cease 
splitting  hairs  over  the  absurd  issues  which  are  to-day  held 
paramount  in  these  particulars.  Since  the  inception  of  the 
horse  show  as  a  fashionable  fad,  and  the  establishment  by 
our  wealthy  amateurs  of  equipages  of  more  or  less  pretentious 
appearance,  these  matters  have  furnished  food  for  arguments 
of  the  most  heated  description,  and  we  have,  American-like, 
not  infrequently  rushed  to  extremes  as  ridiculous  as  they  are 
unworkmanlike,  swallowing  wholesale  the  camel  of  dicta- 
torial selection  and  straining  grievously  at  the  gnat  of  com- 
mon sense  appropriateness.  True  elegance  is  attained  by 
shunning  in  every  detail  the  flashy  and  bizarre,  and  by 
presenting  the  same  graceful  unity  of  flowing  lines,  dark 
colours  and  inconspicuous  ornamentation  in  our  equipages 
which  we  evince  in  our  dress,  not  only  preserving  thus  our 
own  self-respect,  but  also  forestalling  the  ridicule  of  carping 
critics,  and  furnishing  to  the  world  an  object-lesson  which 
is  also  satisfactory  to  one  who  has  a  genius  for  taking  those 
"infinite   pains"    in   providing  himself  with  the  conscious- 


"5 


DRIVING 

ness  that,  let  fashions  change  and  contort  as  they  will,  he 
is  always  up  to  date. 

The  ceremonious  functions  of  foreign  courts  of  course 
demand,  as  a  means  of  identification  at  courtyard  or  palace 
gate,  thoroughly  correct  appointment,  not  only  as  to  equipage, 
but  also  as  to  the  proper  display  of  the  family  badge  or 
crest,  etc.,  on  blinkers,  pads,  loin-straps,  vehicle,  etc.; 
and  without  all  these  insignia,  properly  placed  and  easily 
distinguishable,  no  vehicle  passes  muster,  but  is  forthwith 
ordered  out  of  line  and  sent  home  as  not  properly  attired. 

So  far  as  show-ring  competition  goes,  it  would  certainly 
seem  that  these  classes  should  be  open  only  to  amateurs  who 
must  own  their  entire  exhibit,  and  display,  therefore,  only 
what  they  practically  and  regularly  use. 

To  be  properly  equipped  the  ambitious  amateur  cannot 
do  better  than  to  place  himself  unreservedly  in  the  hands  of 
any  first-class  carriage  and  harness-makers,  explaining  to 
them  his  wants,  and  bearing  in  mind  always  that  to  be 
thoroughly  comnie  il  faut  the  styles  he  selects  must  be  suit- 
able to  his  age  as  well  as  to  his  means,  and  that  when  he 
chooses  his  servants  and  horses  he  must  preserve  the  same 
harmony  of  detail.  Thus  a  stout  old  gentleman  and  his 
equally  portly  better-half  are  hardly  in  harmonious  sur- 
roundings when  occupying  a  smart  brougham  drawn  by  a 
flash-going  horse  and  driven  by  a  dapper  young  man;  nor 
will  the  young  horse-owner  do  well  in  selecting  a  heavy 
family  brougham,  solid  and  steady  horses  and  the  heavy- 
weight middle-aged  coachman  appropriate  for  the  uses  of 
his  elders.  He  who  invests  should  keep  in  mind  all  such 
particulars — which  are  among  the  genuine  essentials  of  good 
appointment — and  follow  them  throughout  all  his  purchases; 
remembering  that,  as  an  elderly  man,  he  has  no  use  for  a 

126 


.^H 


RUN  ABOUT  CONVEXTIUXALLV  APPOlXTIiL) 


RUNABOUT  APPOINTED  AS  IT  LOGICALLY  SHOULD  BE   IN  AMERICAN  STYLE 


APPOINTMENTS 

smart  runabout,  and  no  horse  proper  for  it,  and  that,  as  a 
youngster,  the  ponderous  gig,  or  buggy,  and  correspondingly 
heavy  harness  will  be  quite  out  of  place  in  his  stables  or  at 
his  door.  We  are,  when  using  them,  also  a  part  of  our 
equipage,  and  the  "eternal  fitness  of  things"  does  not  all 
halt  at  the  mere  horse,  carriage  and  harness — the  setting, 
as  it  were,  to  the  attractive  ensemble  we  should  desire 
to  present. 

Again,  the  figures  and  faces  of  one's  servants  appear 
conspicuously  in  the  foreground  of  the  picture  we  aim  to 
display,  and  too  much  care  cannot  be  exercised  in  regard 
to  them;  nor  does  any  other  feature  do  more  to  secure  that 
harmony  of  detail  for  which  we  strive.  A  man  is  known  and 
classed  as  much  by  the  servants  he  keeps  as  by  his  other 
equipage,  and  in  figure  these  should  always  be  smart  and 
"genteel,"  in  countenance  presentable,  in  posture  graceful, 
in  clothing  neat,  and  in  manners  and  bearing  unexceptional. 

Having  then  decided  upon  the  establishment  of  a  family 
equipage,  what  arms,  badge,  knot,  rebus,  monogram,  initial, 
etc.,  shall  we  use  to  adorn  and  to  distinguish  our  appurtenances 
from  those  of  others  ?  Broadly  speaking,  there  is  no  proper 
reason  in  American  equipage  for  the  display  of  crests — or 
coats  of  arms  (an  anachronism  upon  harness  or  carriages  at 
any  time),  and  those  of  us  who  can  perchance  lay  claim  to 
some  sort  of  family  badge  are  among  the  most  reluctant 
publicly  to  do  so.  Badges  are  absolutely  a  matter  of  personal 
choice,  if  the  hereditary  right  to  one  be  lacking,  and  any  one 
may  devise  for  himself  and,  as  it  were,  copyright  any 
pattern  not  already  claimed.  These  badges  are  in  use  very 
much  more  generally  and  are  of  a  more  flamboyant  style  than 
good  taste  approves,  and  if  they  are  used  at  all  only  those 
of  an  inconspicuous  design  and  modest  size  should  be  dis- 

127 


DRIVING 

played,  the  monogram  or  initial  being  far  more  neat  and 
appropriate.  These  insignia  have  their  appropriate  places 
only  upon  the  door-panels  of  the  vehicle  and  upon  the  rosettes, 
face-piece,  blinkers,  breast- plates  (or  standing  martingale), 
frogs,  saddle-skirts  and  fillet-straps,  never  exceeding  about 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  size.  No  scroll-work  or  fancy 
designs,  no  twisted  metal  hames  and  terrets,  no  flaming 
brow-bands  have  ever  any  place  in  the  modest  man's  equip- 
ment; no  fancy  stitching,  light-yellow  collar  linings,  etc., 
but  all  quiet,  to  sombemess,  even  in  the  details  of  the  most 
offhand  and  nondescript  equipage.  Above  all  should  the 
various  contraptions  with  which  American  carriage-makers 
have  flooded  our  markets  be  tabooed — those  hideous  vehicles 
which  open  and  close  here,  there  and  everywhere,  and 
transform,  by  pushing  this  and  pulling  that,  into  everything 
from  a  hencoop  to  a  dining-room  table.  Neither  on  the 
score  of  utility,  good  taste  or  ordinary  common  sense  have 
these  products  of  a  diseased  imagination  any  place  in  a 
gentleman's  stable,  and  the  standard  types  in  carriages 
and  harness  are  the  only  ones  worthy  of  patronage  or  really 
fit  for  the  purposes  intended.  Nothing  more  genuinely  con- 
venient, elegant,  comfortable  and  easy  of  draught  has  been 
devised  than  our  accepted  styles  in  fashionable  vehicles. 
Of  course,  our  native  styles,  as  the  rockaway,  carryall, 
buggy,  exercise  cart,  etc.,  have  merits  of  their  own  which, 
for  the  purposes  intended,  are  unsurpassed,  but  our  manipula- 
tion of  all  foreign  styles  has  improved  them,  externally  and 
internally,  to  an  incalculable  extent. 

As  the  ambition  of  the  average  would-be  owner  and  his 
good  wife  tends  first  toward  the  "setting  up"  of  a  one-horse 
brougham  or  victoria,  perhaps  these  should  be  the  ones  first 
considered  in  the  lists  of  appointments  which  will  here  be 

128 


y 


M. 

\ 

w 

1 
— 1 

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t 

vm 

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1^ 

V 


";7|! 


A  PRIVATE  (FRENCH J    HA.\S(J.M      AI'l'()l.\Tl-:iJ 


A  PRIVATE  HAXSOM— APPOINTED 


APPOINTMENTS 

briefly  stimmarised — not  dictatorially,  nor  as  more  than  a 
general  guide  to  accepted  good  taste,  and  as  a  record  of  what 
has  received  the  meed  of  approval  in  all  our  show-rings  as 
being  the  "correct  thing"  in  appointments.  Various  details 
may  be  modified  by  the  owner — as  omitting  bearing-reins, 
housings,  brow-bands,  rosettes,  etc.,  from  a  lady's  vehicle, 
turning  out  with  one  man  on  the  box,  etc.;  but  while 
these  departures  are  general,  they  are  "  out  of  drawing,  " 
and  he  who  allows  them  cannot  rank  in  the  first  flight 
of  the  correctly  appointed.  A  man's  equipage  may  "leave 
off"  almost  anything — in  fact,  "everything  on"  for  a  lady's 
use  and  "all  possible  off"  for  a  man's  use  is  perhaps  as  apt 
an  epitome  of  appointment  as  one  can  desire. 

THE    SINGLE    BROUGHAM 

Of  accepted  pattern  and  easily  flowing  lines ;  not  exagger- 
ated as  to  style  of  door,  windows,  etc. ;  proportioned  to  the  size 
of  horses  kept ;  if  intended  for  occasional  use  with  a  pair,  rather 
more  solid  in  effect  than  if  always  to  be  used  with  one  horse ; 
rubber  tired ;  metal  rim  to  coachman's  seat  and  on  door  handle ; 
dark  colours;  no  striping  or  light  painting  of  wheels  (as  red, 
yellow,  etc.),  unless  these  colours  are  already  adopted  and  the 
equipage  ultra-smart;  lower  panels  painted  to  match  seat- 
covering,  livery  and  robe;  shaft  tips  black  (japanned); 
servants  in  full  livery  (breeches,  boots,  etc.,  as  described 
elsewhere)  unless  footman  is  carried.  This  servant  is, 
however,  usually  noticed  only  on  the  box  of  an  open  carriage, 
as  a  victoria,  caleche,  etc.,  although,  as  essentially  a  lady's 
servant,  he  is  always  in  place  upon  any  lady's  carriage. 
Great  coats  and  robe  if  weather  demands;  rain-coats 
under  seat;  carriage  umbrella  in  boot;  robe  like  lining 
for    occupants;    clock  and  conveniences  in  receptacles   pro- 

129 


DRIVING 

vided;  windows  or  shutters  up  when  going  to  or  coming 
from  home,  and  lowered  when  waiting  for  master;  always 
two  servants,  groom  standing  at  hinge  side  of  door,  robe 
over  left  arm,  when  waiting. 

Harness  black ;  double  lined ;  brass  or  silver  trim  accord- 
ing to  vehicle,  brass  being  perhaps  the  smartest,  but  silver 
possibly  more  elegant  and  less  usual;  twisted  furniture  never 
proper;  all  buckles  square,  and  single,  with  single  billets; 
bridle,  square  or  D-shaped  blinkers ;  pulley  or  French  bridoon, 
bearing- rein,  double-ring  drop  attached  to  crown-piece; 
Buxton  bit ;  single  link  or  square  metal  brow-band  according 
as  D-shaped  or  square  blinkers  are  used;  flowers  in  headstall 
rather  neat;  collar,  Kay  or  rim;  hames,  anchor-draught, 
jointed  terrets,  plain  tug  (no  clip  nor  rivets  showing) ; 
billet  for  trace  of  one  piece,  but  never  metal;  chain  and  ring 
plated  like  harness;  standing  martingale  from  pad-girth, 
through  kidney-link  ring  to  nose-band;  pad,  straight; 
Tilbury  tugs;  hook,  never  post,  for  bearing- rein ;  breeching; 
brown  reins;  badges,  monograms,  etc.,  as  described.  Horse 
of  size  to  correspond  with  brougham,  of  fine  presence  standing, 
and  dignified  lofty  carriage,  long  and  wide,  dark  colour,  no 
(or  very  little)  white;  a  dip  in  back  is  graceful;  good  bone; 
moderate  pace  (at  least  eight  miles);  good,  true,  all-around 
action,  active,  well-mannered.  Servants  of  age  and  figure 
to  correspond  with  vehicle  and  owner,  etc.  Such  details 
are  trifles,  perhaps,  but  one  should  always  bear  them  in 
mind  in  the  establishment  of  an  equipage,  with  a  view  to 
the  eternal  harmony  of  things.     For  the 

BACHELOR      BROUGHAM 

one  man  only  is  permissible,  and  the  harness  may  be  deprived 
of  all  its  "unnecessaries,"  even  to  the  breeching  (although 

130 


APPOINTMENTS 

this  is  reckless,  unsafe  at  times  in  hilly  streets,  and  therefore 
properly  always  used).  This  is  the  "utility"  or  man's 
brougham  as  distinguished  from  that  of  the  lady,  and  while 
the  same  regulations  as  to  quietness  and  elegance  are  pre- 
ferable, a  lightening  of  effect  by  faint  striping  of  the  running- 
gear  is  not  objectionable.  The  horse  for  this  should  be  very 
smart,  and  flash,  some  white  is  allowable,  and  its  colour  may 
be  anything.  The  servant  should  be  young  and  trim — 
the  general  effect  of  this  equipage  making  for  smartness  and 
dash  as  against  the  solidity  and  quiet  elegance  of  the  lady's 
carriage.  Rosettes  are  by  no  means  allowed  upon  the  harness, 
but  flowers  may  be  worn  in  the  brow-band. 

The  interior  fittings  should  be  such  as  a  man  would  need 
in  contradistinction  or  in  addition  to  what  the  lady's  carriage 
contains — as  match-box,  cigarette  case,  etc. 

THE    PAIR-HORSE    BROUGHAM 

is  the  same  in  all  details,  including  horses,  servants,  etc., 
as  the  single  brougham  first  described,  except  that — if  always 
to  be  used  with  a  pair — it  will  be  proportionately  heavier, 
as  will  the  general  effect  of  the  harness,  which  resembles  in 
general  that  of  the  wheel  of  a  park  four-in-hand,  etc.;  15.3 
is  big  enough,  single  or  double,  for  anything,  and  an  inch  or 
so  less  not  unusual,  but  the  very  quick-stepping  phaeton- 
horse  type  is  hardly  proper  for  brougham  work,  although, 
of  course,  a  brougham  horse  should  be  able  to  make  haste  a 
little  if  late  for  luncheon,  theatre,  etc. 

Victoria  (cabriolet),  Single  and  Pair  Horse. — Everything 
the  same  as  for  single  or  double  brougham,  save  that  the 
pad  is  much  lighter  and  narrower,  blinkers  smaller  and 
D-shaped.  Most  critics  contend  that  for  this  carriage 
alone    and    for    pair-horse    work    are    cloth    housings,    silk 

131 


DRIVING 

brow-bands,  rosettes,  etc.,  admissible,  but  the  point 
has  always  seemed  ill- taken.  Allowing  that  the  victoria 
(or,  ill-named,  cabriolet)  and  the  caleche  are  distinctively 
feminine  carriages,  the  brougham  is,  by  the  necessities 
of  our  climate,  as  essentially  hers,  and  should  it  not  be 
as  fully  dressed?  As  distinctively  full-dress,  such  appur- 
tenances seem  essentially  feminine,  and  as  not  only 
allowable  but  demanded  by  all  the  arguments  of  good  taste. 
We  must  admit,  in  spite  of  our  fads  in  these  connections,  that 
harness-makers  know  something  of  their  business,  and  why 
do  they  provide  such  things  if  they  are  "only  to  be  used 
before  the  victoria  or  caleche  "  ?  We  need  definite  decisions 
upon  these  much- disputed  points,  and  arguments  for  or 
against  the  use  of  these  trappings  in  all  feminine  connec- 
tion need  ratification  upon  other  grounds  than  those  of 
mere  personal  prejudice  or  caprice. 

THE    PARK    DRAG 

Always  dark-coloured,  and  if  two  colours  are  combined 
they  should  be  very  quiet  and  harmonise  well.  The  metal 
moim tings  are  the  same  as  on  harness.  Badges  are  hardly 
appropriate,  but  may  appear;  monograms,  instead,  are  proper 
on  door-  and  boot-panels.  The  hind  seat  is  on  curved  iron 
braces,  has  no  lazy  back,  and  accommodates  only  the  two 
servants.  The  vehicle  has  a  perch  and  collinge  or  mail  axles. 
The  body  and  the  hind  boot  are  always  alike  in  colour,  while 
the  box-risers,  the  toe-board,  etc.,  are  like  running-gear;  the 
cloth  of  seats  matches  predominant  colour  of  vehicle.  The 
hind  boot  door  is  hinged  at  the  bottom.  The  lead-bar  and 
main  bar  (screw-heads  up)  are  attached  to  back  of  dicky 
seat,  the  latter  on  top.  There  are  no  luggage  straps,  etc., 
on  roof.     The  "  imperial "  is  never  carried  save  when  actually 

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APPOINTMENTS 

conveying  a  lunch.  The  interior  hnings  are  of  leather  or 
cloth,  and  there  are  the  usual  fittings  of  hat-straps,  pockets, 
lamp-sockets,  etc.,  the  lamps  being  carried  inside  during 
the  daytime.  All  aprons  and  rugs  are  carried,  neatly 
folded,  on  the  front  seat;  the  shutters  are  down.  The  lazy- 
backs  on  gammon  and  back-gammon  seats  are  down,  unless 
in  actual  use.  The  skid  hangs  on  near  side  and  is  applied 
to  near  wheel.  The  harness  should  be  used  complete  as 
furnished,  although  in  practice  housings,  loin-straps,  etc., 
are  frequently  omitted,  but  the  propriety  of  this  is  at  least 
questionable.  It  should  be  double-lined,  brass  or  silver 
trim,  bearing  monograms  (or  badges)  on  rosettes,  face- 
pieces,  blinkers,  pads,  trace-bearers,  and  breast-plate  frogs; 
blinkers  square  or  D-shaped,  metal  front  (square  or  curb- 
chain  pattern,  according  to  shape  of  blinkers) ;  bridoon  or 
French  bearing- reins ;  drop  strap  attached  to  crown-piece; 
turrets  on  crown-piece  of  wheelers,  and  others  on  outside 
blinker-stays ;  Buxton  bits ;  patent-leather  Kay  or  rim  collars ; 
breast-plates  throughout,  working  on  kidney-links  and  round 
collar-throats;  jointed  kidney-links  and  rings  throughout; 
metal  squares  on  wheel  trace-ends,  inside  trace  one  hole  shorter 
if  roller-bolts  are  alike ;  lead  traces  straight,  lapped  or  crossed, 
according  to  need.  Anchor  draught  on  hames  and  rivet 
heads  exposed  on  tugs;  jointed  hames- terrets ;  links  plated  to 
match  furniture ;  snap  hooks ;  screw-heads  up  on  lead  traces ; 
cruppers  with  (or  better  without)  buckles;  burnished  pole- 
chains,  with  spring  hookg.  The  head  man's  livery  has  flap- 
pockets;  both  men's  coats  same  (groom's)  length,  full-skirted 
and  plain-collared  (velvet  collars  on  great  coats);  waistcoats 
striped,  showing  a  little  at  coat  collar;  leather  (or  white 
stockinet)  breeches;  straight  shaped  hats;  livery  collars; 
white  ties;  brown  gloves.     The  head  man  always  sits  off-side, 

13.3 


DRIVING 

and  goes  to  wheelers'  heads;  both  men  should  shape  alike, 
be  smart  and  active,  and  ascend  and  descend  quickly  and 
together.  Kidney-link  rings  are  generally  left  off  the 
leaders'  harness,  but  there  seems  no  reason  for  it.  The 
breast-plates  are  generally  buckled  through  the  inner  wire 
of  the  kidney-links,  but  it  is  far  more  secure  to  carry  them 
round  the  collar- throat  as  well,  that  all  may  be  safe  in  case 
of  the  hames  slipping  or  the  hames-strap  breaking. 

THE    PRIVATE    OMNIBUS 

This  is  distinctly  a  "  utility  "  vehicle,  but  should  still  be 
turned  out  in  the  city  with  its  two  men  in  full  dress.  For 
country  work  stable  clothes  are  used;  and  not  infrequently 
three  horses  are  driven  abreast  as  handling  a  heavy  load 
better  than  two  or  four.  It  also  makes  a  useful  vehicle  for 
off-hand  four-in-hand  driving  (in  which  case  the  servants  go 
inside  and  the  roof  seat  is  carried).  It  should  be  quietly 
coloured;  cord  or  cloth  trimmed;  the  brougham  harness  is 
used  in  town,  and  anything,  as  the  wheel  set  of  a  four-in- 
hand  harness,  in  the  country.  Any  horses  are  suitable, 
but  for  country  work  at  least  "train-catchers"  are  required 
— i.  e.,  those  that  can  carry  a  load  along  at  a  smart  pace. 
No  vehicle  is  more  convenient,  and  it  is  especially  useful  if 
the  top  shifts,  as  it  may  then  be  converted  at  will  into  an  open 
wagonet;  or,  the  roof  seat  being  also  removable,  it  replaces 
on  the  open  body  and  forms  a  very  fair  brake.  The  top 
should  always  have  a  roof  rail,  as  it  makes  an  important 
accessory  for  station  work  in  the  way  of  carrying  baggage. 

LANDAU  OR  OTHER  HEAVY  CARRIAGE 

Colours  dark,  cloth-trimmed,  harness  same  as  for 
brougham,   but   more  massive  throughout;    breeching    may 

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APPOINTMENTS 

be  worn.  The  servants  should  be  in  keeping  as  to  age,  size, 
etc.,  and  the  Hght,  small  men  are  manifestly  out  of  place  here. 
The  horses  should  not  be  under  sixteen  hands,  and  are  more 
"in  the  drawing"  if  the  tails  are  long,  or  docked  very  long, 
set  up,  and  the  hair  trimmed  in  a  graceful  switch.  The 
usual  internal  fittings,  etc.,  are  required. 

THE    ROAD    COACH 

This  should  be  done  up  in  flash  colours,  the  coach  body 
and  boot-panels  being  alike;  the  risers,  toe-board  and  hind 
seat-panels  being  like  the  under-carriage,  etc. ;  the  seats — all 
lazy-backs  being  up — covered  with  pigskin,  carpet  or  scarlet 
broadcloth  (which  is  very  smart) ;  guard's  seat  boxed  with 
wooden  risers,  and  full  width  for  four  people;  basket  near 
side  in  front  of  guard,  whose  seat  and  anchor  are  on  that  side ; 
luggage  straps  always ;  all  rugs  folded  up  on  front  seat  ready 
for  use ;  lamps  always  in  brackets ;  skid  hung  on  near  side ; 
spare  bars  as  in  private  drag;  clock  on  toe-board;  collinge  or 
mail  axles;  inside  preferably  wood  finish,  with  hat-straps, 
pockets,  etc.,  as  usual;  wheel-jack,  wrench,  hammer,  cord, 
wire,  rope,  punch,  rein-  and  trace-splicers,  bearing-rein,  hoof- 
pick,  nose-bands  and  jaw-straps,  spare  whip  (jointed). 
Pole-head  and  chains  preferably  painted  black;  chains  single 
link,  passed  through  pole-eye  from  inside  out,  thence  through 
kidney-link  ring,  and  fastened  in  proper  chain-link  by  open 
hook  confined  by  rubber  band  (poling  should  not  be  too 
tight).  Black  or  brown  single-strap  harness,  yellow  stitched, 
has  horseshoe  buckles  throughout;  flowers  may  be  worn; 
bridle  fronts  in  coach  colours  or  metal;  no  face-pieces  or 
bearing-reins  (unless  latter  is  needed  on  some  horse,  and  then 
always  short,  and  not  "full"  on  bridoon);  ferrets,  etc.,  as  in 
park  harness;   straight  black,  brown  or  brown-lined  collars, 

135 


DRIVING 

very  carefully  fitted;  ring-draught  on  hames;  hook,  eye  and 
chain  kidney-links,  rings  on  all;  breast-plates  on  wheelers; 
lead  traces  preferably  crossed  (all  horses  work  better  thus); 
traces  sewed  into  rings;  wheelers'  traces  French-loop  or 
chain-end,  ring  outside ;  loops  best  for  quick  changing ;  leaders' 
snap  traces  cockeyes  up;  breast-plates  always  round  collars 
and  through  kidney-link;  Newmarket  tugs;  cruppers  buckle 
or  not;  spare  collar  (on  lamp  bracket).  The  guard  should  be 
dressed  quietly  in  some  sporting  mixed  cloth,  the  breeches 
like  the  coat,  the  gaiters  the  same  or  of  pigskin.  Scarlet  for 
the  coat  is  most  inappropriate  as  peculiar  to  the  royal  mail 
coaches  only,  while  the  green  and  other  cloths  sometimes 
used  savour  too  much  of  badly  made  livery.  The  hat  is  a  light 
gray  or  dark  felt;  strap  over  right  shoulder  supports  pouch 
carrying  way-bills,  coach-key  and  watch.  Everything  should 
be  simple,  plain  (the  smarter  in  effect  for  that)  and  ready 
for  hard  and  immediate  usage.  The  leaders'  harness  may  be 
devoid  of  pads,  and  carry  only  trace-bearers  from  the  hames- 
terrets  to  the  trace-buckles  (or  these  may  be  left  off).  In 
the  same  way,  if  a  thick  felt  pad  is  used  under  the  wheelers' 
pads,  to  prevent  the  pad-edge  from  cutting  the  back  through 
up-draught  from  the  reins,  the  cruppers  may  be  dispensed 
with.  Round  or  horseshoe  blinkers  are  never  as  becoming 
as  the  square  or  D-shaped. 

MAIL    PHAETON 

Dark  colours  throughout.  Pole-head,  etc.,  polished  steel; 
pole-chains  and  not  pole-straps  are  essential  for  any  phaeton, 
whether  for  masculine  or  feminine  use.  Horses  must  be  large 
— from  sixteen  hands  upward.  Harness  that  is  used  with 
brougham,  or  the  wheel  set  of  a  park  four-in-hand  harness, 
may  be  used.     A  four  or  a  spike-team  may  be  driven  in  this 

136 


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U.\1CUR\    TEAM 


PRIVATE  OMNIBUS  AND  THREE  HORSES  ABREAST 


APPOINTMENTS 

vehicle.  Two  servants  should  always  accompany  it.  Owing 
to  its  weight  and  cumbersomeness  it  is  now  nearly  obsolete, 
and  its  place  has  been  acceptably  filled  by  the  lighter  con- 
structions as  the  demi-mail,  stanhope  or  spider  phaeton.  These 
elegant  carriages  should  be  dark  in  colour  throughout,  or 
very  slightly  relieved  as  to  the  wheels  and  under-carriage  by 
stripings.  The  linings  are  always  of  appropriate  coloured 
cloth.  The  stanhope  and  the  demi-mail  are  now  almost 
entirely  superseded  by  the  spider,  a  very  graceful  and  com- 
pact vehicle  and  very  "becoming"  to  its  horses.  Harness  of 
brougham  type  but  rather  lighter  is  used,  and  the  horses  run 
from  14.3  to  15.2  in  most  appropriate  heights.  When  "  turned 
out"  for  a  lady's  use — this  being,  whether  drawn  by  one  or 
two  horses,  essentially  appropriate  to  her  needs,  as  safe,  easy 
of  access,  etc. — the  complete  double  harness  is  used,  and  pole- 
chains  as  for  a  gentleman.  Arguments  are  made  that  here 
again  housings,  flowers  and  all  the  refinements  are  perfectly 
apropos,  but  custom  is  rather  against  it.  If  a  single  horse  is 
driven,  he  should  be  thick  and  stout  in  order  to  handle  com- 
fortably the  weight  of  the  carriage  and  possible  occupants, 
and  should  stand  at  least  15.2,  and  such  an  arrangement  is 
perfectly  proper  and  very  useful  for  the  stanhope  phaeton 
as  well,  especially  for  park  or  city  driving. 

The  George  the  Fourth  and  the  Peters  Phaeton  are, 
however,  the  most  refined  vehicles  for  a  lady's  driving, 
and  the  same  details  apply  to  them  as  to  the  spider.  The 
servant  should  always  -  be  very  smart,  trim,  slight  and 
good-looking. 

These  luxurious  carriages  have  the  drawbacks  of  being 
expensive  to  acquire,  difficult  to  realise  on  at  second-hand, 
and  of  being  heavy  of  draught  because  of  the  small  wheels 
and  long  under-carriage,  and  are  fit  only  for  the  well-kept 

137 


DRIVING 

roads  of  park  and  city.     Rubber  tires,  as  on  all  heavy  vehicles 
except  coaches,  brakes,  etc.,  are  always  used. 

THE  lady's  country  PHAETON 

This  charming  little  carriage  is  coming  into  much  favour 
through  its  lightness,  smartness  and  general  utility.  It 
should  have  a  rumble,  as  should  any  vehicle  intended  for  a 
lady's  use,  that  a  servant  may  always  accompany  her,  and 
also,  in  summer,  a  movable  canopy  top.  A  smart  cob  or  a 
pair  of  them  are  indicated;  the  harness  should  be  that  suit- 
able for  light  phaeton  work,  and  fully  equipped,  if  single, 
with  breeching,  etc.,  although  shaft-stops  and  kicking-strap 
are  fancied  by  some.     The  servant  should  be  in  stable  clothes. 

THE  lady's  FRENCH  CHAISE 

This  two- wheeler  is  very  comfortable,  easy  of  access,  but 
essentially  a  utility  carriage,  and  to  be  turned  out  informally. 
It  may  be  used  as  a  park  conveyance,  in  which  case  all  the 
essentials  of  park  equipage  must  be  observed. 

THE    GIG,    OR    TILBURY 

The  fashion  of  the  hour  is  for  the  gig,  although  a  few 
owners  still  favour  the  Tilbury.  The  latter  is  lighter  in 
effect,  and  may  be  reduced  to  miniature  dimensions,  as  is 
now  frequently  done  with  both  in  order  that  a  smaller  horse 
may  be  used.  This  change  has  come  about  since  the  endorse- 
ment of  the  14.3  horse  as  a  "typical"  gig  animal.  The 
colours  of  a  gig  may  be  flashy,  but  are  more  elegant,  as  is 
always  the  case  if  they  are  very  quiet.  The  trimming  may 
be  of  cloth,  which  is  preferable,  or  of  cord;  lamps  are  square, 
and  rubber  tires  are  general.  The  harness  for  the  gig  is 
almost  identical  with  that  for  light  brougham — brass  or  silver 

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APPOINTMENTS 

mounting;  square  or  D-shaped  blinkers;  gig  bit;  bridoon; 
French  or  short  bearing-rein;  face-piece;  flowers;  standing 
martingale;  rim  or  Kay  collar;  chain  fastening  for  hames; 
straight  pad;  Tilbury  tugs;  single  square-shaped  buckles; 
kicking-strap  or  none.  Groom  small,  active,  wearing  groom's 
livery.  Rug  according  to  weather;  rain-coats  for  owner;  same 
for  servant.  If  full-sized  gig  is  used,  the  horse  must  not  be 
under  15.2,  and  should  have  pace  and  all-round  action. 
Except  in  America,  the  gig  is  a  strictly  "utility"  trap,  and 
may  be  so  " turned  out"  here  with  man  in  stable  clothes,  etc. 
As  a  vehicle  that  is  actually  but  little  used  in  America  it  has 
always  seemed  that  we  were  paying  a  nonsensical  amount 
of  attention  to  this  carriage  and  its  outfit. 

THE  RUNABOUT 

This  wagon  may  be  flashy  or  quiet  as  to  colour,  and 
is  generally  relieved  as  to  wheels  and  under-carriage  by 
lighter  colouring  or  by  striping.  Its  trim  is  of  cloth  or  cord, 
and  it  has  no  driving  cushion ;  is  rubber  tired ;  high  or  low 
wheels;  regulation  side-bar  or  end  springs.  The  shafts 
bear  stops.  If  used  with  a  pole,  this  may  work  either  with 
a  neck-yoke  (preferably)  or  a  crab.  An  additional  wire 
screen  is  useful  on  the  dash,  as  our  native  horses  are  apt, 
if  possessed  of  any  action,  to  throw  gravel  and  filth  all 
over  the  occupants.  The  harness  may  be  brass  or  silver, 
with  square  D  or  round  blinkers;  "full"  or  short  check 
or  none;  any  bit;  no^  martingale  or  breast-plate;  collar, 
straight  or  shaped,  or  breast  collar  proper;  single  horseshoe 
buckles;  any  draught  on  hames;  chain  fastening  for  hames; 
kicking-strap,  breeching,  or  preferably  neither;  servant  not 
needed  (wears  stable  clothes  if  carried) ;  rug  according  to 
weather;  rain-coat  and  apron;  cooler,  tie-strap,  wrench,  cord, 

1.39 


DRIVING 

wire,  lamp,  watch,  lashed  whip,  etc.  Light  American-style 
harness  and  straight  whip,  moreover,  always  seem  most 
appropriate.  The  horse  should  not  be  over  15.1,  smart, 
upheaded,  flash-marked  or  coloured,  if  preferred,  have  plenty 
of  pace  and  good  all-round  action,  but  by  no  means  too 
high  in  front. 

THE    HANSOM 

This  may  be  flash-coloured  if  a  man  only  is  likely  to  use 
it,  otherwise  quiet;  no  luggage  rails  on  roof;  lamps  to  taste; 
rubber  tires.  Harness  has  no  bearing-reins;  any  bit;  no 
face-piece  nor  breast-plate ;  round  tugs ;  straight  saddle ;  traces 
chain-ends,  shortening  at  the  end  by  buckle;  ring  draught; 
breeching;  buckles  square  or  horseshoe.  Servant,  dark 
cutaway,  trousers,  and  high  felt  or  derby  hat;  cloth  or 
"Benjamin"  overcoat;  rug  and  weather-apron  over  safety 
strap  at  driver's  off-side;  rugs  according  to  weather;  doors 
shut  when  unoccupied,  and  glass  down. 

THE     ROAD     WAGON 

Everything  about  this  characteristically  American  vehicle 
must  be  as  simple,  practical  and  unostentatious  as  is  the 
native  character.  The  vehicle  may  have  faintly  striped 
running-gear  and  wheels,  but  this  should  not  be  in  violently 
contrasting  colour;  cloth  trim,  top  curtains,  and  apron  under 
seat;  modest  kit  of  the  essentials,  as  hoof-pick,  cord,  wrench, 
scraper,  cooler,  tie-rein,  lamp,  etc.,  but  not  the  manifest 
absurdities  of  wheel- jack  (to  grease  a  ninety-pound  wagon, 
yet  no  grease  provided !),  head-collar  (to  stop  at  road-houses 
where  ties  are  plenty),  shoes  and  nails  (yet  never  hammer, 
pincers,  rasp,  nor  a  full  set — nor  the  skill  to  put  them  on), 
etc.  We  have  reached  really  idiotic  lengths  in  these 
classes   so   far  as  this  detail  goes.      A  rain-coat,  a  lap-robe 

140 


^. 


f 


\  COUNTRY  phap:ton 


GOVERNESS  CART 


APPOINTMENTS 

according  to  weather,  and  a  useful  but  not  extravagant 
whip.  The  wheels  always  rubber- tired,  and  either  high 
(hard  rubber)  or  low  (pneumatic),  the  latter  being  now 
favoured;  end  spring  or  side-bar;  monogram  or  initial  or 
badge  allowable  on  seat-riser.  The  speed  wagons  are  not 
road  wagons  at  all,  and  never  should  be  endorsed  as  such. 
They  afford  neither  protection  from  the  weather  nor  comfort 
to  the  occupant.  The  harness,  very  light  and  simple,  black, 
double  lined,  black  stitching,  brass  or  silver  trimmed; 
horseshoe,  leather  -  covered  buckles,  single  billets,  of 
leather  always;  square  blmkers;  quiet  colour  allowable  in 
brow-band;  overdraw  or  high  side-check,  loops  on  crown- 
piece  (not  throat-latch) ;  bits  as  appropriate  to  horse ;  running 
martingale  (if  any) ;  traces  flat  (or  may  be  rounded  half  way) ; 
flat  reins  (sometimes  rounded  to  about  horses'  hips) ;  initial 
or  monogram  or  badge  on  blinkers  (sometimes  also  on  rosettes, 
hip  straps,  and  breast-plate,  but  savour  of  too  much  display). 
The  double  harness  has  hames,  leather-covered,  gilt  draught, 
and  eyes;  inside  terrets  on  strap;  collar  (shaped)  or  breast 
collars  with  bar,  etc.,  to  take  pole-pieces;  trace-loops  on 
saddle;  no  trace- bearers,  housings,  etc.;  always  breast-plates 
which  may  have  initials,  etc.,  on  frogs;  reins  flat  or  round; 
traces  same. 

THE     SPEEDING     WAGON 

Is  for  that  purpose  only,  and  has  no  special  appointments; 
should  be  of  quiet  colour.  Harness  may  be  the  very  light 
road  harness  described  or  the  so-called  "two-minute"  style, 
which  has  neither  breast-collar  nor  breeching,  a  thimble 
taking  the  ends  of  the  shafts,  going  up  thence  to  the  saddle- 
flaps,  and  then  continued  along  the  horse's  side,  as  a  trace, 
to   the   whiffle  tree.     If   breeching   is   used,  there  should   be 

141 


DRIVING 

snubbing- straps  or  some  arrangement  to  keep  it  down,  or 
otherwise  it  almost  surely  works  up  if  a  horse  pulls,  and 
getting  under  tail  may  bring  about  a  kicking  scrape  or  a 
runaway.  The  shafts  are  always  worn  well  up  on  the  horse's 
shoulders — the  tugs  being  shortened  to  effect  this — in  order 
that  all  shoulder  motion  may  be  avoided  and  the  vehicle 
follow  true  and  steady.  The  other  appointments  carried 
should  not  exceed  rug,  cooler,  tie-strap,  whip,  wrench  and 
rain-coat,  especially  as  the  wagon  has  but  little  storage 
capacity. 

THE     TANDEM 

A  curiously  inappropriate  fashion  was  at  one  time  in 
vogue  in  this  country  of  "turning  out"  what  was  called  a 
"  park  tandem.  "  Prizes  were  given  at  our  shows  for  this 
anomalous  outfit,  and  much  care  was  taken  in  its  appointment. 
There  was,  however,  never  any  reasonable  grounds  for  its 
inception,  and  that  the  nondescript  failed  of  popularity  is 
proven  by  the  fact  that  such  classes  have  been  abandoned, 
and  so  violent  has  been  the  reaction  that  we  have  proceeded 
to  the  informal  lengths  of  using  all  sorts  of  gigs  for  tandem 
driving,  while  the  convenient  and  generally  becoming 
breast-collar  is  now  almost  universally  used  on  the  leader. 
Unless  a  revival  of  interest  in  the  details  of  the  equipage 
occurs,  it  is  probable  that  it  will  become  as  unusual  as  is 
the  chaise  or  curricle. 

The  principal  characteristic  of  any  tandem  may  well  be 
its  informality,  and  with  this  in  view  perhaps  gigs,  skeleton 
or  otherwise,  are  allowable.  Originally  used  as  a  makeshift 
for  covering  unexpectedly  heavy  roads  or  for  getting  a  hunter 
to  covert-side,  this  equipage  partakes  in  every  detail  of  the 
sporting;  and  as  such,  horseshoe  buckles,  ring  draughts, 
basil-facing  to  collar  (straight)  and  pad,  elbow  or  any  other 

142 


''W^ 


MORNIXG   PHAin'ON   A\'l)   I\\1K 


MORxMING  PHAETON  AND  COB 


APPOINTMENTS 

bits,  etc.,  are  indicated;  the  hames-hooks,  rings,  and  the 
eyes  for  lead  traces  being  burnished.  Round  or  horseshoe 
bhnkers  are  sometimes  used,  but  are  not  becoming ;  checks  may 
be  used  or  not,  as  necessary ;  in  fact,  convenience  or  personal 
predilection  only  should  be  consulted,  although  naturally  a 
park  gig  and  a  rough-and-ready  road  harness  are  hardly  in 
good  taste.  The  servant  may  be  dressed  in  stable  clothes 
if  preferred. 

If  an  attempt  is  made  at  "park"  outfit,  the  usual 
characteristics  of  such  harness  must  be  followed.  The 
servant  may  be  in  livery;  Buxton  bits;  bridoon  checks,  if 
any;  face-pieces;  collar  and  hames  on  both  horses;  standing 
martingale  on  wheeler;  shaped  collar;  finger  draughts;  trace- 
bearers,  etc. ;  the  blinkers  square  or  D-shaped.  A  regular 
tandem  cart  should  be  used,  and  not  a  gig,  and  in  so  far  as 
these  details  go  the  "park"  features  may  differ  from  the 
"road." 

Tandem  cart  shafts  are  generally  straight,  and  great 
care  should  be  used  that  the  vehicle  balances  properly — 
never  "by  the  head,  "  but,  if  anything,  tipped  a  little  back. 
The  belly-band  should  be  very  loose,  that  the  shafts  may 
have  full  play,  which  the  open  (never  French  or  Tilbury) 
tugs  assist.  The  balance  may  be  additionally  regulated  by 
shifting  the  body  forward  or  back  on  the  under-carriage  or 
by  moving  the  seats  as  needful. 


'43 


A    lAUNJ'lNU   CAR 


A  LADY'S  CHAISE 


CHAPTER   XV 

ECCENTRICITIES     IN     APPOINTMENTS 

Important  as  the  details  of  correct  appointment  are  to 
the  dignity  and  harmonious  appearance  of  an  equipage,  it 
must  be  confessed  that  in  some  matters  regarding  it  we  go 
to  extraordinary  lengths,  and  accept  dictatorial  selection 
unsupported  by  either  argument  or  reason  for  many  par- 
ticulars which  are  unnecessary  and  neither  in  good  taste 
nor  useful.  We  strain  after  eifect,  yet  wink  at  arrange- 
ments often  most  extraordinarily  bizarre  and  which  have  no 
genuine  reason  for  acceptance.  We  retain,  for  example, 
upon  the  heavy  harness,  various  accessories  which  have  no 
place  either  for  use  or  ornament  upon  any  horse  well  trained 
or  v/ell  formed  enough  for  such  work;  ignoring  the  fact  that 
the  lines  of  true  beauty  lie  always  in  the  curve,  we  at  times 
and  for  no  appreciable  reason  endorse  the  sharpest  of  angles 
and  the  most  extraordinarily  abrupt  of  curves  in  our  carriages ; 
we  peer  forth  from  our  brougham  through  windows  so  small 
and  high  that  seclusion  is  the  occupant's  portion  whether 
she  desires  it  or  not ;  we  run  the  varieties  of  carriage  into  each 
other  until  we  can  hardly  denominate  them  ourselves;  we 
condemn  certain  trappings  upon  certain  harnesses  for  single- 
horse  work,  and  insist  upon  them  for  a  pair  before  the  same 
carriage;  we  retain  certain  buttons  and  length  of  coat,  etc., 
in  our  liveries  because — well,  no  one  knows  why;  and  we 
soberly  and  perpetually  sit  upon  and  demand  that  our 
coachman  sit  upon  the  right-hand  side  of  our  vehicles,  whereas 
we  also  turn   to  the  right,   thus  violating  every  common- 

I4S 


DRIVING 

sense  requirement  of  the  rules  of  the  road,  obstructing 
traffic,  and  endangering  ourselves  and  others  by  our  blind 
adherence  to  an  obsolete  fashion. 

We  are  wonderfully  cautious  about  special  clips  and  the 
shape  and  substance  of  our  kidney-links,  but  supremely 
careless  and  slavishly  imitative  of  the  really  material  points 
in  the  matter  at  issue,  sacrificing  the  substance  for  the  shadow, 
and  thrice  happy  in  the  consciousness  that  because  we  are 
so  dismally  like  everybody  else  we  must  be  correct. 

In  the  colour  of  our  vehicles,  to  begin  with,  we  practically 
all  follow  the  same  lines.  Eliminate  three  shades — black, 
invisible  blue  and  ditto  green — and  you  do  away  with  two- 
thirds  of  the  private  equipages  in  any  city;  nor  can  pater- 
familias differentiate  the  family  brougham  from  any  of  the 
rest  in  line  at  ball  or  play  except  by  the  countenances  of  his 
servants.  Not  that  dark  colours  are  not  always  the  more 
elegant  and  refined,  nor  that  gaudy  wheels  and  flashy  panels 
are  indicated,  but  that  various  faint  stripings  in  shadings 
might  be  used  much  more  freely  than  they  are,  and  the 
"passing  show"  prove  all  the  more  attractive  and 
"individual"   for   the   innovation. 

The  high  door-panels  and  the  small  windows — often 
with  narrow  panes — were  and  are  certainly  in  bad  taste  as 
being  inconvenient,  stuffy,  and  rendering  recognition  of  the 
occupants  most  difficult.  A  veiled  lady  suddenly  bobbing 
forward  to  bow  from  the  darkling  recesses  of  such  a  carriage 
has  the  startling  effect  of  the  outburst  of  a  jack-in-the-box; 
and  certainly  her  dignity  suffers  in  the  operation,  even  if  her 
headdress  is  not  disarranged.  The  high-backed  victoria  of 
hideous  memory  was  another  contraption  which  played 
havoc  with  hats  and  hair  and  held  its  victim  as  securely 
encircled  as  an  octopus  on  wheels.     The  miniature  victoria 

146 


SKELETON  GIG 


PARK  GATE  GIG 


ECCENTRICITIES   IN   APPOINTMENTS 

in  the  same  fashion  is  certainly  not  an  attractive  equipage 
for  feminine  use,  and  far  too  offhand  in  effect  to  rank  as  suitable 
for  town  or  park ;  nor  is  it  recognised  as  a  fashionable  carriage 
in  any  country  but  this  and  Russia,  where,  with  its  fast 
trotting  horses,  it  is  a  man's  or  a  public  carriage  rather  than 
a  woman's — for  no  vehicle  is  essentially  feminine  which  does 
not  carry  or  provide  for  a  footman  as  well  as  a  coachman. 
The  hansom,  also  in  favour,  is  surely  not  a  conveyance  for 
the  gentler  sex  in  its  private  character,  whatever  position 
it  may  hold  as  a  public  necessity.  The  various  phaetons 
are  surely  not  suitable  for  ladies  unless  they  have  a  rumble 
to  convey  a  groom.  Many  other  solecisms  in  relation  to 
both  masculine  and  feminine  purposes  will  occur  to  anyone 
interested  in  the  matter  of  really  appropriate  vehicular 
appointment. 

As  to  heavy  harness,  it  certainly  seems  that  a  sensible 
rule  would  read,  "Everything  off  for  a  man;  everything  on 
as  made,  and  all  additional  refined  ornamentation  possible, 
for  a  lady's  use. "  This  brings  us  at  once  to  the  .much- 
discussed  question  of  cloth  housings  and  brow-bands  upon 
all  harnesses  intended  for  a  lady's  carriage,  and  certainly  it 
appears  that,  single  or  double,  if  correct  at  all,  they  must  be 
logically  correct  everywhere — not  only  before  the  caleche 
and  victoria,  but  the  landau,  the  phaeton  and  the  brougham 
— not  necessarily  a  fine-weather  carriage  in  this  country. 
With  these  should  logically  go  all  the  rest  of  the  harness 
superfluities — as  loin-straps  or  trace-bearers,  etc.;  nor  does 
there  appear  any  good  reason — except  "some  one  says  so" — 
why  these  trappings  must  only  be  worn  when  a  servant 
drives;  or  that  pole-pieces  and  not  pole-chains  may  be  used 
if  the  regalia  are  all  in  evidence  and  the  lady  drives  her  own 
phaeton.     What  is  the  reason  they  are  wrong  one  way  and 

147 


DRIVING 

right  the  other?  If  there  is  none  to  allege,  then  let  it  rest 
upon  the  point  of  personal  privilege  and  be  accepted  as  correct 
however  any  one  elect  to  equip  his  outfit. 

If  housings,  etc.,  are  wrong,  what  shall  we  say  of  a  stand- 
ing martingale  that  is  unsightly,  useless  and  needless  upon 
any  properly  broken  horse?  Or  of  a  nose-band  which  can 
neither  be  used  as  such  nor  is  so  placed  as  to  be  effective? 
Of  pads  for  victoria  work  as  broad  as  and  exactly  similar 
to  those  for  brougham  use,  and  of  runabout  pads  as  large  as 
those  for  gig  work  ?  Of  French  checks,  accepted  nowadays 
as  full-dress,  which  are  as  makeshift  in  appearance  as  a 
trotting  overdraw?  Of  the  almost  universal  fashion  of 
putting  breast  collars  on  gig,  runabout  and  sometimes 
victoria  horses?  Of  the  general  omission  of  the  breeching 
in  the  lighter  vehicles?  Of  the  huge  and  closely  fitted 
blinkers  as  disfiguring  as  torturing?  Of  the  shaped  collars 
which  do  not  fit  one  horse  in  fifty?  Of  the  bespangling 
crests,  badges  and  monograms  which  disfigure  nearly  all 
harness  and  which  are  generally  as  illicit  as  inappropriate? 
Of  the  brass  kidney-links  which  are  so  sure  to  become  steel 
when  the  plating  wears  off,  as  it  will  with  use?  Of  the 
improperly  placed  pole-pieces — through  the  kidney-link  rings 
only;  and  of  various  other  details  in  harness  appointment  as 
impractical  as  universal? 

Why  must  livery  coats  for  footmen  and  grooms  differ 
so  widely  in  detail?  Surely,  these  men  should  contrast 
sufficiently  in  size,  type  and  appearance  to  be  distinguished. 
Why,  in  a  hot  climate,  object  to  stockinet  or  other  thin 
material  for  breeches? 

Why  sit  always  upon  the  right  in  a  country  where  you 
turn  the  same  way,  and  are  thus  prevented  by  the  rules  of 
the  road  from  seeing   your  inside  wheel?   from  admitting  a 

148 


^7 


BREAK  CART 


MEADOWBROOK  CART 


ECCENTRICITIES    IN    APPOINTMENTS 

passenger  without  either  ahghting  and  losing  control  of  your 
horse,  compelling  him  to  make  a  dishevelling  crawl  under  or 
a  skip  over  your  reins  at  ascending  and  alighting,  or  turning 
round  to  face  the  stream  of  traffic  on  the  wrong  side  of  the 
road,  where  you  have  no  earthly  right  to  be?  Why  compel 
your  footman  to  jump  down  into  the  street,  run  round  the 
carriage  at  stopping  and  do  the  same  thing  at  starting,  when 
your  comfort  and  convenience,  as  well  as  the  celerity  of  his 
appearance  at  your  side,  would  be  so  much  enhanced  if  your 
coachman  sat  upon  the  left  ?  Why  delay  all  traffic  and  fume 
at  delays  similarly  caused  by  others  by  adherence  to  a  custom 
which  has  no  grounds  for  existence,  is  wrong  in  principle, 
and  injurious  in  practice?  Why  subject  your  horses  to 
constant  turnings  and  checkings  m  and  out  of  line  caused 
by  the  fact  that  you  or  your  man,  from  a  seat  upon  the 
right,  cannot  see  where  you  are  going  until  you  pull  out 
from  behind  other  vehicles  in  front? 

The  fit  of  the  harness,  its  proportion  to  the  carriage  and 
horses  and  their  relation  to  the  vehicle,  the  manner  of  their 
putting- to,  in  regard  both  to  each  other  and  to  the  vehicle; 
the  appropriateness  of  your  outfit  to  your  age,  stature, 
position,  and  means;  the  ultra-smartness,  neatness,  fit,  and 
shape  of  everything  are  surely  more  important  details  than 
the  position  of  clips  or  the  style  of  equipage,  and  are  the 
genuine  essentials. 

What  will  be  exactly  right  at  one  period  of  life  is 
exactly  wrong  at  another;  and  anything  special  in  the 
way  of  horse,  vehicle  or  trappings  must  be  thoroughly 
carried  out  all  the  way  through,  if  good  taste  is  to  be  in 
evidence.  The  smart  brougham,  light  servants  and  flash 
horses  are  by  no  means  the  entourage  of  the  dowager,  nor 
is    the   lumbering   brougham,  the  stout    coachman   and  the 

149 


DRIVING 

heavy,  phlegmatic  horses  the  equipage  of  the  young  and 
newly  married. 

Surely  a  stable  groom  has  no  place  upon  a  lady's 
carriage.  He  will  never  be  needed  for  the  horses  if 
they  are  such  as  any  woman  ought  to  ride  behind,  and  the 
fastidious  revolt  at  the  idea  that  a  mere  stable-hand  has  any 
place  as  a  lady's  servant.  A  footman,  dressed  as  such, 
is  surely  as  presumably  familiar  with  milady's  acquaintances, 
shopping  expeditions,  etc.,  by  far  more  in  place,  and 
certainly  his  presence  lends  an  air  of  refinement  and  a  regard 
for  the  fitness  of  things  to  the  equipage,  which  is  not  at  hand 
when  some  strapper  is  promoted  to  do  her  bidding.  Nor 
need  his  appearance  be  confined  to  the  box  of  the  victoria, 
as  is  usually  the  case,  but  he  should  certainly  be  as  useful 
on  the  brougham  or  landau  as  upon  the  summer  carriage. 

Can  anything  well  be  more  irrelevant,  more  out  of  drawing 
than  many  of  our  officially  endorsed  appointments?  Let 
us  consider  the  runabout,  a  strictly  American  type  of  vehicle 
and  logically  to  be  turned  out  with  a  light  and  graceful 
harness,  a  long-tailed  horse,  and  a  straight  whip,  etc. 
We  require  a  dock-tailed  horse,  that  he  may  be  enabled  to 
throv/  mud  and  filth  all  over  us;  we  insist  upon  action  which 
is  certain  to  bring  about  this  result.  We  equip  this  curious 
steed  in  a  harness  heavy  enough  to  pull  a  light  brougham  or 
gig,  with  huge  blinkers,  thick  traces,  and  wide,  heavy  pad. 
We  restrict  the  type  of  wagon — although  as  long  as  you  say 
"runabout"  this  is  legally  necessary  as  copyrighted  for  one 
certain  style  of  axles,  etc.— and  endorse  a  vehicle  like  the 
easy-riding  end-spring  wagon  in  every  point  but  that  of 
comfort ,  we  perch  ourselves  upon  a  driving  cushion  (although 
this  is  now  losing  favour),  regardless  of  the  fact  that  it  is  most 
uncomfortable  for  long  trips  and  utterly  useless  in  such  a 

150 


BREAK  AND  ROAD  FOUR 


SKELETON  BREAK 


ECCENTRICITIES    IN    APPOINTMENTS 

carriage.  We  require  blanket,  lap  robe  (even  in  summer), 
head-collar  (although  tie-strap  is  better,  and  some  horses 
would  run  away  if  unbridled  and  haltered  when  tied  up), 
and  various  other  immaterial  trifles,  yet  no  oil-can  nor 
anything  else  genuinely  needful;  and  demand  a  lash  whip 
instead  of  straight,  as  would  surely  be  best,  as  being  Ameri- 
can. Nothing  more  really  grotesque  and  ill-arranged  can  be 
imagined  than  the  typical  runabout,  from  its  slight  shafts 
run  into  huge  tugs  to  its  box-apron  in  August;  from  its 
breechingless  harness  to  its  stub-tailed  "gee-gee." 

As  to  the  conventional  gig  appointments,  we  seem  more 
nearly  to  follow  the  dictates  of  generally  accepted  appropriate- 
ness, save  that,  as  instanced  elsewhere,  we  retain  several 
superfluous  details  of  the  harness  and  have  fallen  into  a  fashion 
of  miniaturing  the  vehicle  until  its  appearance  is  squatty 
and  not  as  graceful  as  the  full-sized  carriage  with  large — 
about  fifty-six-inch — wheels.  Surely  the  standing  martingale 
has  no  place,  save  as  a  useless  appendage,  on  the  gig  harness. 

The  tandem  is  nowadays  virtually  obsolete,  but  when 
driven  should  certainly  be  before  a  regulation  tandem  cart 
and  with  a  breeching. 

The  single  victoria  seems  sensibly  turned  out  as  it  stands, 
save  in  the  matter  of  the  standing  martingale,  and  in  the 
growing  fancy  for  the  so-called  "  French  checks, "  which 
are  hardly  full-dress.  If  housings,  etc.,  are  appropriate  for 
double  harness,  there  seems  no  logical  reason  why  the  single 
harness  should  not  also. show  them.  Whatever  is  correct 
for  victoria,  etc.,  should  also  reasonably  appear  suitable  for 
brougham,  landau  and  town  omnibus  work. 

Phaetons  seem  nicely  turned  out,  except  that,  for  pair- 
horse  work  in  all  heavy  harness,  there  seems  no  reason  why 
kidney-links  should  be  plated.      Certainly,  if  in  daily  use, 

151 


DRIVING 

the  plating  will  wear  off,  and  nicely  burnished  steel  is  far 
more  ornamental  than  worn  and  battered  brass.  Again, 
housings  would  reasonably  appear  suitable  for  all  equipages 
used  by  a  lady,  whether  she  drives  or  not;  nor  does  there 
appear  any  written  law  that  housings,  etc.,  must  not  be 
used  with  pole-chains;  nor  why  a  lady,  if  this  is  the  case, 
may  not  omit  the  chains  and  use  pole-pieces  not  only  with 
perfect  propriety  but  as  really  more  refined,  because  less 
noisy  in  work. 

All  matters  relating  to  both  road  and  park  four-in- 
hand  work  have  been  ably  and  definitely  settled  by  The 
Coaching  Club. 


152 


<; 


•z. 

< 


<; 

o 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SERVANTS,  THEIR  DUTIES,  LIVERIES;  STUD-GROOM,   COACHMAN, 

GROOMS,    ETC. 

No  ONE  can  be  a  satisfactory  employer  or  a  thoroughly 
reasonable  master  unless  he  knows  not  only  how  the  various 
duties  and  tasks  he  exacts  can  best  be  performed,  but  can 
accomplish  them  himself.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  relations 
with  our  domestic  servants  are  so  generally  unsatisfactory 
and  that  both  employer  and  employee  are  dissatisfied.  A 
man  is  conversant  with  the  duties  of  his  bookkeeper  and 
clerks,  and  with  those  of  the  captain  of  his  yacht,  but  of 
what  is  possible  to  the  dependents  in  and  about  his  household 
he  has  but  a  vague  idea,  is  a  tyrant  or  an  "  easy  boss  "  according 
to  his  temper  and  nature,  and  matters  are  slurred  over  or 
attended  to  by  fits  and  starts  accordingly.  Another  trouble 
arises  from  the  fact  that  many  of  our  newly  and  suddenly 
rich  have  no  conception  of  the  part  they  would  perform,  and, 
anxious  to  escape  the  unpleasant  experiences  of  friends,  pro- 
ceed to  the  extremes  of  arbitrary  and  domineering  manage- 
ment, resulting  in  additional  complications  of  all  kinds. 

He  will  succeed  best  who  treats  his  servants  as  such, 
allowing  no  liberties,  and  neither  taking  favours  from  nor 
granting  concessions  to  any  one  of  them.  They  like  a  man 
who  keeps  them  in  their  places,  and  respect  the  one  who  will 
stand  no  nonsense.  "He  was  a  terrible  hard  man  to  work 
for,"  they  will  say  admiringly,  "  and  never  stood  no  nonsense 
from  anybody,"  and  with  such  a  one  they  will  contentedly 
remain  for  years.     Above  all,  they  must  have  a  head,  and  if 

153 


DRIVING 

even  two  only  are  kept  the  one  must  outrank  the  other, 
and  whoever  is  the  chief  should  have  the  engaging  of  his 
subordinates  and  be  held  strictly  responsible  for  them. 
No  other  arrangement  is  fair  to  him  or  to  them. 

Of  the  essential  qualifications  of  a  coachman,  skill  in 
driving  naturally  ranks  high,  but  probably  not  more  so  than 
ability  to  keep  his  charges  in  condition,  his  equipages,  equip- 
ments, stable,  etc.,  in  order,  and  himself  and  his  subordinates 
presentable  and  up  to  their  duties.  "  Skill "  in  driving  may 
vary  vastly  with  the  conditions  of  the  service:  your  staid 
old  family  coachman  may  be  as  genuinely  capable,  in  his 
way,  as  your  flash  performer,  who  swings  his  victoria  or  smart 
brougham  in  and  out  of  traffic,  a  finger's  breadth  from 
everything,  and  never  making  a  mistake — just  not  grazing 
countless  vehicles  which  steady  old  "  John  "  would  evade  by 
never  less  than  three  feet.  Neither  have  accidents,  yet  one 
may  be  as  skilful  as  the  other — so  that  perhaps  "  skill, "  in 
the  ordinary  acceptance  of  the  term,  is  ranked  higher  than 
necessary.  Again,  the  coachman  in  a  small  place  need  by  no 
means  be  as  apt  as  he  who  is  head  man  in  a  large  establish- 
ment, yet  so  far  as  ability  goes  each  is  competent  to  the 
tasks  allotted;  and  what  more  can  one  ask  of  any  man? 

Good  personal  appearance  is  most  essential — not  espe- 
cially that  of  face,  but  always  that  of  figure.  Liveries  never 
can  look  well  upon  a  round-backed,  narrow-shouldered,  pot- 
bellied nondescript,  and  servants  should  always  be  at  least 
presentable,  be  their  personal  failings  what  they  may.  "  No 
raan  is  a  hero  to  his  valet,"  and  no  servant  is  a  model  to  his 
employer,  but  the  outside  world  need  not  know  of  the  short- 
comings which  they  do  not  behold;  of  those  visible,  however, 
we  shall  do  our  reputation  harm  if  we  elect  to  be  repre- 
sented by  the  slouchy  and  unkempt. 

IS4 


■s. 
o 
o 

< 


SERVANTS,  ETC. 

Another  frequently  disregarded  detail  is  the  matter  of 
harmony  between  the  appearance  of  coachman  and  the 
vehicle,  horses,  etc.,  he  is  employed  to  engineer.  A  family 
landau  or  heavy,  old  extension  "brougham"  demands,  for 
completeness 's  sake,  that  size  and  bulk  both  in  servant  and 
horseflesh  which  would  be  entirely  out  of  place  in  connection 
with  the  light  victoria  or  smart  bachelor's  brougham;  while 
the  servants  appropriate  to  the  latter  appear  sadly  out  of 
line  in  connection  with  the  former.  The  employer,  if  keeping 
only  one  man,  should  make  up  his  mind  as  to  the  style  of 
equipage  he  means  to  maintain,  and  engage  his  servant  with 
those  points  in  view;  thus,  if  he  selects  the  heavy  landau,  etc., 
the  only  vehicles  which  he  can  with  propriety  drive  himself 
are  the  full-mail,  phaeton,  and  the  dog-cart,  which  his  large 
horses  and  robust  servant  will  match — nor  should  he  ever 
commit  the  solecism  of  appearing  in  a  "spider"  with  two 
huge  carriage  horses  toiling  in  front  and  a  two-hundred- 
pound  man  behind,  settling  everything  "by  the  stern." 
Appropriateness  in  such  details  has  rarely  received  much 
consideration  either  from  the  public  or  at  our  shows. 

Punctuality,  sobriety  and  neatness  are  of  course  essen- 
tial, as  is  that  eternal  attention  to  the  little  things,  the  uncon- 
sidered trifles — which  make  all  the  difference  in  the  appear- 
ance and  actualities  of  service.  Such  a  man  must  be  a  good 
handler  of  his  subordinates — competent  to  know  work  well 
done  and  to  decide  what  a  fair  task  constitutes.  He  should 
invariably  be  allowed  to  engage  his  underlings,  and  no  order 
should  ever  be  given  in  the  stable  except  through  him;  this 
is  his  right,  and  must  be  respected  if  best  results  are  expected. 
If  he  "  shoulders  "  a  little  on  wages — i.  e.,  hires  his  men  for  a 
bit  less  than  you  pay,  overlook  it  so  long  as  service  is  satis- 
factory— there  are   bound   to  be  perquisites   in   all    trades, 


DRIVING 

and,  if  successful,  you  have  had  some  pickings  yourself  in 
your  own  business.  Therefore,  why  expect  an  employee  to 
follow  an  example  which  you  have  not  set,  or  to  desire  a 
servant  to  surpass  you  in  morality? 

Undoubtedly  employers  make  mistakes  in  striving  always 
to  obtain  coachmen  who  have  been  head  men  with  others 
and  who  are  therefore  presumably  competent  to  relieve  their 
masters  of  all  care  as  to  stable  details.  Such  men  are  treas- 
ures if  procurable,  but,  as  in  every  other  pursuit,  it  is  only  by 
the  merest  chance  that  such  a  servant  is  ever  out  of  work  for 
longer  than  it  takes  him  to  move  his  trunks  from  his  past  to 
his  future  master.  There  are  plenty  of  men  with  flowery 
titles,  with  resplendent  clothing,  florid  recommendations 
and  unlimited  "experiences"  (as  had  their  former  employers), 
who  are  always  out  of  work  and  always  eager  for  a  new  place, 
which  they  make  last  until  they  have  "put  in"  as  many  new 
horses,  carriages,  etc.,  as  the  new  employers  will  "stand 
for,"  when  presto!  "I'm  leaving  a- Monday,  sir;  will  you 
please  to  suit  yourself  with  another  man,"  and  Montmorency 
vanishes  into  that  past  which  is  filled  by  him  and  his  ilk  with 
bitter  recollections  and  experiences.  The  second  men,  or 
under-coachmen,  from  any  good  establishment  are  always  to 
be  preferred — they  know  their  business  or  they  would  not 
be  there ;  they  will  be  doubly  anxious  to  please  and  to  prove 
their  ability  in  a  place  where  they  have,  for.  the  first  time, 
full  swing;  they  are  young,  and  they  have  at  least  the  merits 
of  neatness,  punctuality  and  carefulness.  All  such  a  man 
needs  is  a  chance,  and  unwise  indeed  are  you  not  to  give  it 
to  him.  He  knows  the  routine  of  his  work,  and  as  to  the 
stable — care  of  horses,  etc. — that  is  not  one  of  the  Eleusinian 
mysteries;  and  probably,  even  if  he  really  knows  nothing 
of  such  details,  he  is  as  genuinely  competent  as  his  former 

156 


X 

tf3 


^^&¥' 


SERVANTS,   ETC. 

superior,  whom  he,  as  a  subordinate,  was  too  pohtic  to  impugn, 
who  concealed  his  ignorance  under  a  mysterious  air  of  owhsh 
wisdom,  bustHng  of  demeanour,  and  hinting  at  humours  and 
"  indispositions,"  to  the  resultant  mystifying  and  awe-inspiring 
of  his  employer.  Experience  will  make  the  newly  elevated 
competent  in  such  stable  instabilities  as  are  physically 
occurrent,  and  there  is,  nowadays,  a  veterinary  around  every 
comer  who  can  always  set  right  any  serious  or  alarming 
complications. 

We  send  our  cooks  to  cooking-schools  and  buy  them 
costly  books  upon  the  subject;  our  maids  are  carefully 
instructed,  and  we  worry  lest  a  fifty-dollar  bit  of  bric-a-brac 
may  some  day,  through  the  hustling  of  a  heedless  feather 
duster,  reach  an  untimely  end ;  yet  we  turn  our  stable  of  $2,000 
pairs  of  horses,  $2,500  carriages,  valuable  harnesses,  etc., 
without  a  tremour  or  a  qualm  over  to  some  "hawbuck"  fresh 
from  the  quarterdeck  of  an  express  wagon,  or  a  dump-cart, 
and  whose  only  previous  "four-in-hand"  place  has  been  that 
with  "three  cows  and  a  goat,"  and  trust  our  families  to  his 
mercies,  abide  absolutely  by  his  decisions  as  to  soundness 
and  fitness  for  work  (or  needfulness  for  sale),  accept  as 
gospel  his  (possibly  purchased)  gilt-edged  recommendations, 
and  when  he  has  finally  landed  the  family  in  the  hospital,  the 
horses  in  the  offal  wagon  and  the  carriages  in  the  repair  shop, 
heave  a  regretfully  patient  sigh,  bashfully  give  him  his 
walking  ticket  (with  an  extra  month's  wages  as  a  sweetener), 
and  next  day  engage  his  t"win  brother  (so  far  as  ability  goes), 
generally  all  because  this  kind  can  be  had  at  about  $60  per 
month  and  a  strictly  first-class  man  would  cost  $100.  Of 
all  the  tomfool  economies  practised  by  the  average  man,  that 
of  cheap  servants  is  the  most  idiotic  and  most  expensive. 
We  say  we  "  can't  afford  to  pay  the  best,"  but  really  we  "  can't 

157 


DRIVING 

afford  "  to  keep  any  others,  if  we  would  only  figure  things  at 
their  proper  ratio.  What  does  your  $i6  cook  cost  extra  per 
month  in  the  way  of  burnt,  half-cooked,  unappetising  food? 
What  does  your  $io  maid  come  to  in  bad  breaks  among  the 
crockery  and  china,  and  "bad  breaks"  at  the  front  door  and 
at  the  domestic  board?  What  does  your  cheap  gardener 
do  to  lawn  and  flowers  ?  What  happens  to  your  stable  when 
your  $60  man  has  disported  himself  there  for  awhile  and 
made  trash  of  everything,  from  furnishings  to  furniture? 
Better  and  wiser  far  a  first-class  man  and  the  cheap  horses, 
second-hand  carriages,  etc.,  which  his  skill  will  condition  and 
so  present  that  they  will  appear  far  better  than  they  are, 
than  the  deckhand  whose  whole  outfit  is  always  at  sixes 
and  sevens;  who  is  never  punctual,  nor  smart,  nor  clean,  nor 
capable,  nor  worth  having  at  any  price. 

The  thorough  coachman  skimps  no  part  of  his  duties  in- 
doors or  out.  Up  early  winter  and  summer,  his  doors  and 
windows  are  opened  and  a  wisp  of  hay  given  to  each  horse  by 
5:30.  While  they  pick  this  handful  over  he  "mucks  out," 
changes  bedding  and  partly  sets  fair.  At  six  they  receive 
the  water  of  which  the  bit  of  hay  already  fed  will  cause  them 
to  drink  deeply  (a  thing  they  will  not  always  do  if  watered 
first,  because  of  expecting  the  grain  feed  which  is  to  follow, 
and  because  the  pangs  of  appetite  are  keener  than  those  of 
thirst).  No  horse  can  do  well  that  does  not  drink  frequently 
and  deeply.  Grain  follows  the  water,  horses  are  cleaned, 
night  blankets  (if  used)  aired,  head-collars  changed,  and  by 
eight  o'clock  or  nine  in  very  large  stables  all  is  done,  mats 
down,  and  everything  "set  fair,"  the  inmates  ready  for 
orders,  or  to  be  "let  up,"  or  exercised  according  to  needs. 
Such  a  man's  carriages  are  always  in  order,  never  damp  or 
mouldy  inside,  clean  as  to  axles  and  arms ;  tops  fresh  and  prop- 

158 


SERVANTS,   ETC. 

erly  attended,  robes  clean,  well  folded,  and  never  musty  of 
smell;  harness,  steels  and  brass  clean,  properly  and  pictur- 
esquely arranged.  His  floors  everywhere  are  always  neat,  the 
corners  and  ceilings  betraying  neither  dust  nor  cobwebs. 
His  horses  show  no  alarm  at  handling,  there  is  no  springing 
forward  in  the  stalls,  no  running  back  when  approached  from 
in  front;  no  voice  is  ever  heard  in  anger,  and  no  plungings 
proclaim  correction  via  the  pitchfork  handle.  Everything 
is  prompt,  clean,  quiet,  orderly  and  systematic,  and  the  pro- 
cedures appear  almost  effortless,  so  smoothly  do  they  glide 
along.  Carriages  ordered  are  always  ready  and  waiting  well 
in  advance  of  the  hour  named — for  to  be  "ready  to  the 
moment"  is  not  good  enough  in  a  coachman — he  must  be 
ready  well  in  advance  of  the  moment,  for  while,  if  wanted 
later,  he  can  always  "  stand  and  wait "  (as  that  is  his  business), 
the  other  alternative  is  that  he  may  be,  for  some  reason, 
suddenly  needed  a  bit  ahead  of  time,  and  it  is  one  of  his 
duties  to  anticipate  and  to  be  ready  for  this  very  occurrence. 
That  perquisites  and  commissions  are  so  universally 
exacted  by  coachmen  is  the  employer's  fault,  and  he  will  not, 
as  a  rule,  take  the  steps  necessary  to  free  himself  from  the 
financial  burden  he  has  chosen  to  incur.  Servants  are  but 
human,  and  if  employers  will  insist  upon  suiting  "John"  in 
the  matter  of  the  selection  of  horses,  carriages  and  what  not, 
"John"  is  pretty  certain  to  turn  his  responsibility  in  the 
case  to  financial  account,  and  to  exact  a  satisfactory  cash 
equivalent  from  somebody — this  unknown  quantity  being 
invariably  the  callow  master.  Better  far  to  call  "John "  into 
your  sanctum,  assume  your  most  pretematurally  sagacious 
air,  fortified  by  whatever  moral  or  liquid  stimulant  seems 
necessary  to  the  case,  and  address  your  henchman  thus: 
"'John,'  you  enter  my  employ  to-day,  and  I  place  in  your 

IS9 


DRIVING 

hands  all  my  horses,  carriages,  etc.,  over  which  you  have 
control,  as  over  the  subordinates  employed  by  you.  I  am 
informed  by  my  veterinary  and  by  my  carriage-maker  that 
everything  is  in  first-class  order,  and  ready  for  usage  such 
as  I  and  my  family  require.      I  find  by  investigation  that  the 

average  expenses  of  my  establishment  for  the  past years 

have  been dollars  per  month  in  affording  me  the  service 

I  require.  I  am  ready  to  continue  to  equal  this  average,  but 
if  you  decrease  it,  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  amount  saved  shall 
be  yours;  if  you  exceed  it,  you  must  go.  I  shall  buy  such 
fresh  horses,  etc.,  as  to  me  seem  needful,  and  upon  all  such 
purchases  I  shall  pay  you  ten  per  cent,  of  the  cost  price; 
upon  all  sales,  the  same  amount.  If  I  detect  you  in  exacting 
any  commissions,  I  will  not  only  instantly  discharge  you 
and  withhold  your  recommendations,  but  also  prosecute  you 
criminally;  and  I  warn  you  that,  as  in  the  case  of  any 
employee  of  my  business,  I  mean  to  have  you  watched.  I, 
however,  in  closing,  appeal  to  your  honour,  as  I  believe  you 
to  be  an  honest  and  reliable  man,  and  urge  you  to  carefully 
consider  whether  the  arrangements  I  offer  you  voluntarily 
are  not  better  than  those  you  may  make  with  any  dealer,  not 
only  in  amount,  but  in  view  of  the  fact  that  in  one  instance 
it  is  money  freely  given  by  me,  and  in  the  other  it  is  stolen 
front  me.  Think  this  well  over,  '  John,'  and  let  us  understand 
and  respect  each  other  not  only  as  master  and  servant,  but 
as  man  and  man."  "John's"  internal  economy  is  arranged 
on  very  similar  plans  to  your  own,  and  never  imagine  that, 
if  such  an  argument  would  have  appealed  to  you  in  the  days 
of  your  employ eeship,  it  will  not  also  "touch  the  spot"  in 
"John's"  anatomy,  provided  his  recommendations  were  not 
written  simply  to  get  rid  of  him,  and  provided  his  physiog- 
nomy and    phrenological  outlines  appear  to  endorse  what 

i6o 


SERVANTS,    ETC. 

that  possibly  sweet-scented  and  violet-tinted  missive  has 
elaborately  set  forth. 

A  similar  attention  to  face  and  figure  should  attend  any 
selection  (with  your  man's  approval)  of  your  grooms  and 
helpers.  One  can  never  tell  what  latent  talent  may  suddenly 
develop  in  such  an  underling,  and,  if  it  does,  the  setting  is 
always  ready  to  the  hand ;  while  if  this  newly  fledged  genius  be 
a  regular  lumper  in  appearance,  his  abilities  are  but  similar  to 
those  abnormalities  which  many  well-intentioned  charities 
have  developed — i.  e.,  awakening  longings  that  can  never  be 
gratified,  desires  that  can  never  be  honestly  requited,  pro- 
moting abilities  which  have,  when  attained,  no  real  market 
value.  If  a  man  is  known  by  the  company  he  keeps,  so  may 
he  safely  be  classed  by  the  servants  he  employs,  and  one's 
finger  nails,  linen  and  man  servant  are  a  better  guide  to 
character  than  those  not  interested  in  psychological  studies 
would  imagine.  Once  you  have  acquired  this  desirable  raw 
material,  see  that  it  has  chances  to  learn,  to  advance,  and 
to  develop,  either  per  "John's"  connivance,  or  without. 
You  owe  it  to  them,  just  as  your  employer  owed  it  to  you — 
and  he  fulfilled  his  obligations,  or  you  would  not  be  able  to 
hand  over  to  "John,"  et  al,  the  monthly  cheque.  Manifold 
are  our  duties  to  dependents,  but  in  none  are  we  more  remiss 
than  in  giving  them  that  "chance"  for  which  we  always 
have  longed  and  the  absence  of  which  we  have  in  our  own 
case  so  often  lamented. 

Of  all  the  appointments  attendant  upon  horse-keeping, 
that  detail  which  receives  least  attention  and  demands 
most  is  the  livery,  which  by  its  neatness,  cut  and  elegance 
will  offset  various  shortcomings  in  other  parts  of  the  outfit. 
Nine  times  out  of  ten  when  an  equipage  impresses  one  at  a 
glance  as  being  somehow  and  somewhere  wanting  in  com- 

i6i 


DRIVING 

pleteness,  it  will  be  found  that  this  is  chargeable  to  some 
defect  in  the  livery  and  its  accompaniments.  By  this  is  not 
meant  that  garish  display  or  flash  details  are  advised — per 
contra,  nothing  can  be  in  worse  taste  than  they.  Of  all 
essentials,  fit  is  the  first  requisite;  second,  quietness  in  colour 
and  detail;  third,  material.  A  finely  fitting  livery,  though 
of  badly  chosen  colour  and  cheap  material,  is  more  really 
good  in  appointment  than  expensive  cloth,  boots  and  breeches 
badly  made  and  fitted. 

As  to  colour,  only  limited  latitude  is  possible,  nor  can 
we  be  said  as  yet  to  have  acquired  the  right  (in  America)  to 
any  "family  colours,"  badges,  crests,  etc.,  since  most  of  our 
families  able  to  maintain  carriages  have  not  occupied  that 
enjoyable  position  for  more  than  two  generations  (or  much 
less),  and  any  pretension  to  such  privileges  are  as  totally 
absurd  as  they  are  arrogant  and  ill-bred;  and,  therefore, 
he  who  departs  from  the  simple  and  unpretentious  elegance 
which  he  should  desire  to  display  for  the  sake  of  uniformity 
stands  self-convicted  of  vulgarity  and  ignorance,  and  his 
glittering  outfit  of  crests,  cockades,  badges,  etc.,  are  no 
more  his  by  right  than  if  he  had  stolen  them;  nor  do  they 
signify  any  personal  importance  on  his  part,  nor  afford  any 
proper  clue  to  his  ancestry  nor  to  his  estates.  As  the 
knowledge  of  the  niceties  attendant  upon  the  private  life 
of  leisure  and  wealthy  classes  becomes  more  widely  dis- 
seminated, these  mistaken  ideas  are  likely  to  be  modified, 
and  the  garbing  of  our  servants  in  garments  accepted  as 
correct  by  those  in  a  position  to  decide,  both  in  this  and  other 
countries — always  assisted  by  the  tailors  who  have  done 
much  to  make  such  elegances  acceptable  and  possible — will 
become  as  certainly  a  matter  of  fact  as  it  is  to-day  too 
frequently  a  case  of  accident.     That  liveries  are,  as  a  rule, 

162  , 


SERVANTS,    ETC. 

badly  chosen,  ill-made  and  carelessly  donned  is  usually  the 
fault  of  the  master,  who  will  not  trouble  to  inform  himself 
of  the  few  details  essential  to  proper  costuming,  but  drives 
blandly  about  behind  or  beside  servants  who  proclaim 
him  careless  and  improvident,  and  one  who,  be  his  wealth 
numbered  by  ever  so  many  figures,  is  neither  conversant  with 
nor  exacting  of  the  niceties  attendant  upon  the  position 
he  strives  to  assume.  Nor  does  the  effect  of  his  neglect  end 
here;  for  if  he  "  owes  anything  to  society"  at  large  or  at  home 
it  is  that  he  shall  not  only  maintain  visibly  the  dignity  of  the 
position  which  he  has  assumed  or  striven  to  reach,  but  that 
he  shall  afford  a  constant  example  of  correctness,  and  be,  as 
it  were,  a  perpetual  living  example  to  the  ambitious  on  "how 
to  do  things  properly. "  The  carelessness  so  significant  of 
the  leisure  and  the  wealthy  classes  of  thirty  years  ago, 
when  if  a  man  had  $50,000  a  year  it  was  considered  indecent 
to  spend  or  to  appear  to  spend  more  than  $5,000  of  it, 
greatly  retarded  all  advance  and  expansion  in  domestic 
up-to-dateness,  and  it  has  been  hard  for  the  children 
brought  up  under  such  restrictions  to  really  cut  loose 
from  tradition  and  example  and  to  place  themselves  before 
the  public  as  their  means  allowed  and  their  fancies  dictated. 
That  they  are  coming  on  rapidly  is  daily  and  hourly  proved, 
not  only  in  our  parks  and  along  our  roads,  but  in  our 
houses;  nor  do  such  innovations  savour  in  the  least  of 
the  snobbish,  despite  envious  assertions  to  the  contrary 
and  our  own  sneaking,  feeling  that  such  is  the  case.  Our 
army,  navy,  telegraph  messengers,  and  all  employees — even 
our  street  sweepers — are  appropriately  and  distinctively 
garbed,  and  in  none  of  these  classes  is  the  necessity  for 
suitable,  elegant  and  inconspicuous  livery  more  essential 
than  in  the  private  servants  who,   to  the  world  at  large, 

163 


DRIVING 

significantly  and  unmistakably  represent  us  and  our  indi- 
vidual tastes  and  peculiarities. 

For  liveries,  breeches,  boots,  etc.,  then,  go  to  the  very 
best  tailors — nor  can  the  coat-maker  always  succeed  in  the 
manipulation  of  breeches  and  vice  versa,  although  for 
trousers  (if  these  are  worn)  he  may  do  fairly  well.  Never 
economise  on  livery — not  that,  therefore,  the  most  costly 
tailors  and  their  goods  should  be  selected,  but  that  the  ready- 
made  "hand-me-downs"  should  never  be  touched:  your 
good  servant  has  certainly  the  right  to  expect  that  you  will 
attire  him  in  well-fitting  clothes,  and  nothing  will  make  him 
so  satisfied  and  neat  as  the  consciousness  that  he  is  well 
dressed  and  smart.  This  may  seem  a  trivial  detail,  but  upon 
these  little  things — unconsidered  trifles — depend  the  satis- 
factory management  of  far  more  important  matters  than  the 
fit  of  livery  coat  and  the  satisfaction  of  a  servant.  Good 
material,  both  in  box  cloth  for  overcoat  and  in  broadcloth 
for  coat,  for  leather  in  breeches,  and  for  material  in  boots, 
tops,  ties,  collar,  gloves,  pin,  etc.,  are  the  first  essentials 
of  livery,  then  a  quiet  colour  free  from  bizarre  frills, 
cords,  aguillettes,  etc.,  matching  the  colour  of  the  box-seat 
covering  and  harmonising  as  to  colour  with  the  carriage, 
as  to  buttons,  with  the  trimmings  of  the  harness,  and 
these  latter  monogrammed  or  initialled  if  preferred, 
crested  or  badged  if  audacious,  and  preferably  slightly 
oval;  cloth-covered  buttons  being  used  on  the  black 
coats  of  mourning  or  if  that  neat  and  unpretentious  livery 
is  regularly  worn. 

While  there  is  always  a  difference  in  length  between  the 
skirts  of  the  coachman's  coat  and  that  of  the  groom,  there  has 
always  seemed  no  good  reason  for  it,  and  if  a  drag  is  kept 
it  means  buying  another  coat,  cut  groom's  length,  for  the 

164 


SERVANTS,   ETC. 

coachman,  who  then  acts  as  groom.  Extra  exposure  on  the 
coachman's  part  is  no  reason  for  extra  length  of  coat,  as  robes 
are  used  in  severe  weather  anyway,  and  a  sHght  lengthening 
of  the  one  garment  and  shortening  of  the  other  would  bring 
the  two  so  near  together  that  they  would  be  practically 
similar;  nor  is  there  any  reason  for  difference  of  cut  or  make 
— the  size  and  figures  of  the  men  should  sufficiently  indicate 
by  contrast  the  head  man.  The  bell-shaped  skirts  are 
undoubtedly  the  smartest,  although  those  straight-cut  are 
used.  Again,  the  buttons  on  the  tails  behind  might  as  well 
be  either  six-in-all  or  four-in-all  on  both  coats,  as  such 
details  are  really  absurdly  immaterial.  Practically  the  only 
difference  in  the  dress  of  the  two  servants  is  length  of  skirt; 
flap  pockets  on  coachman's  coat,  none  on  grooms,  and  four 
buttons  behind — two  at  waist  and  two  at  bottom — for 
coachman,  six  for  groom.  Velvet  collars  on  overcoat  are 
rather  more  smart  than  those  made  of  the  coat  material; 
all  seams  on  great  coats  should  be  strapped ;  the  collars  should 
be  sharply  pressed  and  lie  flat  and  close.  The  waistcoats 
should  be  of  striped  material,  and  a  strip  of  this  material 
may  line  the  coat  collar  and  will  be  more  effective  if  that  is 
the  case.  Breeches  should  be  of  leather,  but  may,  for  summer 
wear  especially,  be  of  stockinet,  made  and  fitted  to  a  nicety, 
pearl-buttoned,  and  carefully  put  on.  Trousers  may  do  for 
the  country,  for  wet  weather  or  for  night  work,  but  never 
look  smart,  and  are  rarely  properly  pressed  and  made,  the 
material  being  that  of  one's  regular  livery.  Boots  should 
be  of  good  plain  leather,  heavy  of  sole  and  mahogan}^  of  top, 
the  pink  tinge  so  generally  in  use  being  not  so  desirable. 
Black  cloth  tops  are  always  used  for  mourning. 

Stable  clothes  may  be   of  any  colour  of  whipcord,  but 
very  light  ones  spot   easily  and   do   not  last  as  well  as  the 

165 


DRIVING 

darker  shades.  Breeches  and  leggings  (pigskin  or  cloth)  are 
incomparably  smarter  than  trousers,  and  the  customary 
black  flat-topped  hat  with  cutaway  coat  are  better  than 
the  sack  coat  and  round  hat — nor  need  these  two  for  any 
valid  reason  differ  in  the  case  of  the  coachman  and  groom. 
Black  shoes  are  essential.  Collar,  ties,  etc.,  are  the  same  in 
both  liveries,  and  a  neat  pin  rather  adds  to  the  finish  of  the 
tie,  these  pins,  of  course,  being  provided  by  the  master  and 
being  of  a  plain  sporting  cast.  Stable  clothes  go  with  any 
vehicle  appropriate  for  country  use.  Gloves  should  be  of 
dogskin  and  according  to  weather;  mackintoshes  of  cloth 
finish,  very  long  and  roomy.  Two  hats  are  needed — one  of 
silk  for  fine  and  one  of  cassimere  for  showery  weather.  Furs 
are  comfortable  in  cold  weather,  but  should  always  be,  if 
worn,  of  the  handsomest,  as  this  is  a  most  conspicuous 
detail  and  by  no  means  an  essential,  even  in  our  severest 
weather.  The  robe  must  match  the  men's  fur  garments 
unless  the  plain  box-cloth  is  used. 

For  a  middle-aged  or  elderly  lady's  carriage,  undoubtedly 
the  most  elegant,  significant  and  appropriate  detail  is  the 
presence  of  a  house  servant  or  footman  in  indoor  livery 
(wearing  a  very  long  great  coat  in  cold  weather)  upon  the 
box  in  place  of  the  groom — a  detail  essentially  feminine, 
and,  when  accompanied  by  the  full-dress  of  complete  harness, 
presenting  the  acme  of  good  taste,  a  most  appreciable  token 
of  the  character  of  the  equipage.  This  arrangement  is  not 
frequently  seen,  but  is  always  welcomed  as  an  exhibition  of 
the  eternal  fitness  of  things,  for  the  reason  that  such  an 
indoor  man  is  essentially  a  lady's  servant,  familiar  with  her 
wishes,  peculiarities,  friends,  the  more  intimate  details  of 
her  life,  location  of  shops,  etc.,  and  a  more  necessary  part 
of  her  equipage  than  the  carriage  groom,  whose  usefulness 

i66 


SERVANTS,   ETC. 

is  confined  to  the  mere  opening  of  the  door,  arranging  the 
robe  and  calUng  the  carriage. 

Carriage  servants  should  be  carefully  matched  in  shape 
(not  in  height)  and  in  complexion.  A  long-necked,  sloping- 
shouldered,  red-headed  man  should  never  appear  beside  a 
high-shouldered,  black-visaged  one,  nor  a  short,  stout  man 
beside  a  long,  thin  one.  Cross-matched  pairs  may  do  at  a 
pinch  before  the  vehicle,  but  never  on  the  box,  and  even 
widely  protruding  ears  are  an  irritation  to  any  one  who  is 
obliged  to  sit  and  contemplate  their  fiutterings  in  the  breeze 
during  an  afternoon's  drive. 

The  attitude  of  servants  on  the  box  should  be  easily 
erect,  not  perched  upon  the  edge  of  the  seat  with  the  heels 
back  against  the  riser  in  the  fashionable  "  monkey-on-a-stick  " 
attitude,  but  sitting  squarely,  the  waist  hollowed,  the  feet 
falling  at  right  angles  to  the  knees,  and  not  braced  away  out 
in  front  as  if  rowing  a  boat  (an  attitude  invariably  finally 
accompanied  by  round  shoulders,  heavy  hands  and  general 
slouchiness) .  As  any  one  may  prove  by  trial,  the  attitude 
has  great  effect  upon  the  lightness  of  the  hands,  and  he 
who  sits  up  and  "over"  his  horses  finds  at  once  a 
suppleness  of  wrist  and  a  lightness  of  touch  which  have 
hitherto  been  foreign  to  his  manipulation. 


167 


CHAPTER  XVII 

EQUIPMENT,  MAINTENANCE,  MANAGEMENT  AND  CONSTRUCTION 

OF    A    PRIVATE    STABLE 

Opinions  differ  vastly  as  to  what  constitutes  the  essen- 
tials of  stable  equipment  and  as  to  what  is  proper  in  the  way 
of  discipline  and  management.  One  owner  will  be  satisfied 
with  merely  getting  more  or  less  prompt  service,  and  neglect 
utterly  even  to  visit  his  stable,  and  to  thus  give  his  servants 
that  incentive  to  keep  things  in  shape  and  the  place  smart  and 
tidy  which  the  regular  presence  of  the  proprietor,  and  pos- 
sibly of  his  family  or  friends,  insures.  Any  servant  who  is 
worth  his  salt  will  take  pride  in  his  work  and  in  his  master's 
supervision  of  it ;  failing  that  interest,  he  will  feel  that  he  is 
foolish  to  work  simply  for  his  own  satisfaction,  and  will  begin 
to  "  skimp  "  and  to  neglect  everything.  A  proprietor  should 
for  his  own  interests  simulate  an  interest  even  though  he 
feels  it  not,  and  should  appreciate  that  he  owes  it  to  his 
animals  as  much  as  to  his  family  to  "keep  house"  properly. 
Dull  coats  on  the  horses,  shabby  carriages,  dirty  harness  and 
rusty  livery  are  a  direct  reflection  on  the  proprietor,  and  if 
he  fails  in  regard  to  himself  and  his  belongings,  how  can  he 
expect  a  servant  to  respect  him  or  his  property  ? 

All  the  necessaries  in^  the  way  of  equipment  should  be 
willingly  provided,  but  a  halt  should  be  called  if  the  bills 
show  a  long  array  of  articles  neither  useful  nor  actually  need- 
ful. Such  accounts  often  reach  prodigious  lengths.  Your 
horses  will  need  (per  horse)  a  day  head-collar  (best  of  heavy 
leather,  brass-buckled),  a  cheap   night-halter,    day-blankets 

169 


DRIVING 

and  sheets,  according  to  weather;  cheap  but  warm  night- 
clothing  (and,  by  the  way,  this  should  always  be  loosely 
confined,  that  the  surcingle  may  not  gall  the  backbone  nor 
uncomfortably  compress  the  chest).  Too  tight  girthing 
prevents  many  a  horse  from  lying  down  at  all,  and  grooms 
are  prone  to  pull  up  the  straps  very  tight.  Drinking  buckets, 
one  to  two  or  three  horses,  unless  kept  in  stall  as  they  always 
should  be ;  pails  for  washing,  a  tub  and  foot- tub,  forks,  brooms, 
shovel,  stall-cleaner,  basket,  currycomb,  body-brush,  dandy- 
brush,  rubbers,  hoof -pick,  sponge,  soap — one  full  set  to  each 
man,  and  he  made  personally  responsible  for  it — mane-brush 
and  comb,  shears;  bandages  (flannel),  a  set  to  each  horse, 
and  a  set  or  two  of  linen  at  hand.  These  may  be  made  at 
home  for  a  few  cents  each,  if  the  raw  materials  are  bought, 
instead  of  costing  $1.50  the  set.  Pillar  reins  can  be  also 
home-made,  if  the  cord  and  snaps  are  bought,  for  about 
twenty  cents  the  set.  A  cheap  hood  is  handy  in  case  of 
sickness  or  for  sending  a  clipped  horse  to  the  smith's,  but 
by  no  means  essential,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of 
knee-caps. 

The  carriage-house  will  need  shaft-supporters  if  two- 
wheeled  vehicles  are  kept,  and  pole-racks,  robe-racks  and  a 
good  stove.  The  wash-stand  needs  hose  (best  suspended 
from  the  ceiling  by  a  patent  overhead  sprinkler,  which  saves 
much  wear  and  swings  out  of  the  way  when  idle),  buckets, 
carriage-jack,  step-ladder,  hose  and  bracket,  sponges  and 
rack,  chamios,  feather  duster,  whiskbroom,  rubber  wash- 
apron  and  boots,  soft  soap,  turpentine  for  removing  wheel- 
grease,  grease,  etc.  A  box  will  answer  for  sponges;  the 
hose-bracket  may  be  home-made.  A  can  of  japan  and  a 
paint  brush  should  always  be  at  hand  to  touch  up  carriage 
steps,  etc. 

170 


PRIVATE   STABLES 

For  harness-room  one  needs  a  mirror,  harness  brackets 
and  saddle  brackets;  "compo"  and  crest  brushes,  black 
(and  ordinary)  chamois,  beeswax  and  harness  dye,  neat's-foot 
oil  and  lampblack,  sand  for  steels,  soap,  polish,  harness 
paste,  saddle  paste,  harness  cleaning-hook,  burnisher,  harness 
punch,  stove  and  boiler  if  hot  water  is  not  otherwise  obtain- 
able and  the  room  not  otherwise  heated,  in  order  that  men 
may  be  comfortable. 

For  the  livery  one  requires  boot-trees,  boot  and  hat 
brushes  and  whisk,  blacking,  breeches  paste,  breeches  trees, 
button  plate.  City  stables  will  be  perfectly  lighted  or  can 
readily  be  made  so.  In  the  country,  if  lanterns  are  the 
dependence  for  night  work,  it  will  be  found  convenient  to 
stretch  a  wire  down  the  length  of  the  runway  behind  the  stalls 
and  hang  upon  it  several  S  hooks  made  of  wire.  The  over- 
head wire  should  be  within  reach  (say  seven  feet)  and  run 
near  the  wall.  A  man  may  thus  hang  a  lantern  on  the  hook 
and  push  it  along  as  he  goes  from  stall  to  stall,  avoiding  all 
risk  of  upsetting  it  by  leaving  it  on  the  floor.  The  same 
arrangement  in  the  carriage-house  will  be  found  effective. 
The  large  reflector-lamps  generally  used  give  a  good  light, 
but  cast  it  only  in  one  direction. 

Grain-bins  and  hay-chutes  will  of  course  be  large  and  easy 
of  access.  A  mixing-tub  for  cut-feed  or  bran  mashes,  a  hay- 
cutter,  oat-sieve,  etc.,  are  necessary. 

Economy  goes  hand  in  hand  with  order,  system  and 
cleanliness,  and  all  stable  .work  should  proceed  along  a  regular 
routine,  certain  hours  being,  as  far  as  possible,  allotted  to 
special  tasks.  In  this  matter  the  master  must  lend  a  con- 
siderate hand  and  see  that  his  orders  do  not  cause  a  derange- 
ment of  methods  which  are  in  regular  operation.  Orders 
should  be  given  in  time,  not  only  for  their  reasonable  fulfil- 

171 


DRIVING 

ment,  but  so  that  the  feeding  hours  may  not  be  seriously 
interfered  with.  Horses  are  dependent  upon  their  meals  at 
regular  intervals,  and  while  they  will  welcome  anticipation  of 
these  periods,  they  will  not  quietly  bear  the  reverse,  and  their 
condition  cannot  long  maintain  if  this  detail  is  neglected. 
Everything,  from  the  morning  watering  to  the  night  feeding, 
should  progress  along  regular  lines  and  at  regular  hours,  and 
the  master  should  be  able  to  know  at  just  what  tasks  he  will 
find  his  men  employed  if  he  visits  the  stable  at  a  given  time. 
Order  should  be  the  rule,  from  the  cleanly  swept  carriage- 
room  to  the  tidy  loft,  from  the  squarely  placed  doormat  to 
the  carefully  ordered  medicine  shelf.  Every  tool  should  be 
in  place — the  cleaning-tools  in  their  case  or  basket  and  on  their 
shelf;  the  brooms,  forks,  etc.,  hanging  up  on  nails,  the  pails 
set  carefully  in  place;  the  harness-room  clean  swept,  and  all 
tools  not  in  use  on  their  shelves,  all  sponges,  chamois,  etc., 
wrung  out  and  put  away.  Every  least  thing  should  have  its 
place,  and  "any  old  place"  is  worse  than  none.  Closets  are 
undesirable,  as  they  are  not  apt  to  be  kept  tidy,  but  an  open 
shelf  has  no  secrets.  The  windows  should  be  spotless,  the 
floors  ditto,  all  nooks  and  angles  swept  and  dusted,  and  a 
cobweb  impossible  to  find.  There  is  no  excuse  for  any  odour 
save  that  of  some  healthful  disinfectant,  whether  the  stable 
holds  one  horse  or  one  hundred.  At  least  once  in  ten  days 
the  whole  place  should  be  turned  out,  washed  down,  and 
cleaned  through — stairs,  drains,  comers,  shelves,  etc. 
Windows  are  made  to  open,  and  should  be  kept  so  as  much  as 
possible.  All  pails,  cloths,  etc.,  should  be  as  sweet  and  clean 
as  soap  and  water  can  make  them.  As  there  should  be  a 
place  for  everything  and  a  time  for  each  operation,  so  should 
there  be  in  force  a  regular  method  of  procedure  about  even 
the  most  trifling  duties,  and  a  task  once  begun  should  be 

172 


PRIVATE   STABLES 

completed,  and  not  left  half  done.  Nothing  looks  worse  than 
to  see  a  floor  half  swept  when  the  man  starts  to  wash  the 
carriage,  the  broom,  etc.,  meanwhile  standing  about  out  of 
place,  a  few  bandages  hung  out  to  dry  while  others  soak,  a 
horse  half  cleaned  and  left  while  some  other  job  is  begun, 
the  general  result  being  that  everything  is  slurred  over. 
From  "setting  fair"  to  locking  up,  every  detail  follows  in 
regular  course  and  nothing  should  be  hurried,  nor  should  your 
men  be  allowed  to  work  in  dirty  trousers  and  shirts — at 
least,  after  the  stable  is  "set  fair."  Any  extra  expense  for 
outfit  or  for  laundry  will  be  trifling,  and  should  naturally 
be  borne  by  you.  The  cleaning  of  a  horse,  carriage  or  harness 
demands  definite  consecutive  operations,  and  you  should 
familiarise  yourself  with  them  enough  to  know  not  only  how 
they  should  be  done,  but  what  time  should  be  allowed  to  do 
them.  Thus,  to  properly  dress  a  horse  will  take,  if  a  man 
"keeps  going,"  twenty-five  minutes;  to  wash  a  brougham 
or  similar  vehicle,  about  the  same  time — metal  furniture, 
glass  polishing  and  other  final  touches,  about  fifteen  minutes 
more.  An  ordinary  brougham  single  harness  will  demand 
about  the  same  time — so  that,  roughly  speaking,  an  hour 
and  a  half  should  suffice  to  finish  these  operations  for  a  single 
equipage,  there  remaining  boots  to  polish,  breeches  to 
pipe-clay,  etc.,  and  livery  buttons  to  shine.  One  man  will 
capably  attend  to  three  horses  and  the  usual  vehicles  kept  for 
them ;  if  more  are  kept,  one  helper  will  suffice  unless  eight  are 
used,  when  work  will  exist  for  two  assistants.  Of  course, 
if  a  groom  is  needed  for  the  box,  when  only  a  pair  are  kept, 
one  may  be  employed,  but  not  economically,  as  a  house 
servant  may  perfectly  well — in  a  lady's  open  carriage  most 
appropriately — combine  this  with  his  indoor  duties. 

Taking  one  year  with  another,  the  average  expense  of  a 

173 


DRIVING 

horse's  yearly  keep,  less  the  cost  of  stabling  and  wages,  will 
be  about  $250,  which  includes  only  food,  shoeing,  etc. 

Carriages  and  harness  will  last  about  three  years  before 
they,  under  ordinary  usage,  need  repairing  or  replacing. 
This,  of  course,  contemplates  first-class  care  and  prompt 
attention  always;  constant  inspection  of  bolts,  nuts,  rivets 
and  stitching,  that  repairs  may  not  be  delayed.  Of  course, 
if  they  are  constantly  on  the  go  and  in  all  weathers  they  will 
not  retain  their  fresh  appearance  as  long,  and  two  years,  or 
even  two  seasons,  may  put  them  in  a  most  shabby  condition. 
It  is  an  excellent  plan  to  arrange  with  a  carriage-maker  not 
only  to  attend  to  the  wheels  for  all  your  carriages,  but  also  to 
inspect  them  at  least  monthly,  and  his  guarantee  of  efficiency 
is  worth  all  it  will  cost  you  by  yearly  contract. 

The  last  economy  practised  should  be  that  of  wages — by 
which  is  meant  that  one  cannot  pay  a  good  man  too  much, 
while  a  poor  one  is  dear  at  any  price.  Sixty  dollars,  if  a  man 
boards  himself  and  is  sober  and  competent,  is  cheap ;  anything 
less  is  unwholesomely  so,  and  he  who  pretends  to  be  satisfied 
with  it  is  looking  to  perquisites  of  some  or  of  all  kinds  to 
make  up  the  deficiency.  As  these  come  out  of  your  pocket 
in  the  long  run,  you  had  much  better  pay  a  man  a  living 
wage,  and  then  perhaps  he  will  treat  you  with  more  leniency 
in  such  respects.  Better  far  an  excellent  servant  and  various 
makeshifts  in  the  vehicles  and  equine  line  than  a  "lumper" 
and  the  finest  outfit  that  money  can  buy.  In  the  first  case 
you  will  at  all  events  get  good  if  not  especially  ornamental 
service;  in  the  second  you  will  be  lucky  to  escape  without 
heavy  expenses,  damage  suits,  coroners'  inquests  (possibly 
on  yourself),  and  many  indurations  of  temper  and  of  varnish. 

To  preserve  your  animals  always  in  health  the  services  of 
a  veterinary  will  be  occasionally  needed,  and  as  these  are 

174 


PRIVATE  STABLES 

always  at  hand  nowadays  your  man  should  distinctly  under- 
stand that  any  attempt  by  him  to  treat  an  ailing  horse, 
albeit  successfully,   will  result  in  his  immediate  discharge. 
This  is  summary,  but  wholesome,  for  in  the  first  jjlace  he 
cannot  possibly  really  know  very  much  about  either  symp- 
toms or  treatment,  and,  in  the  second,  you  do  not  hire  him 
for  such  work ;  or,  if  he  is  really  competent,  you  are  cheating 
him  of  his  due,  no  matter  what  wages  you  pay  him.     Such 
responsibilities   are  not  properly  his,    and  he   is  foolish   to 
assume  them,  and  you  are  also  if  you  permit  him  to  do  so. 
If  one  of  your  own  family  is  sick  you  forthwith  summon  your 
physician  and  procure  the  best  skill  within  reach;  for  your 
pocket's  sake,  at  least,  do  the  same  with  your  horse. 

If  you  are  compelled  to  occupy,  as  most  of  us  are,  leased 
stabling,  you  will  be  obliged  to  put  up  with  much  imprac- 
tical construction.  At  least,  however,  you  can  secure  air 
in  reasonable  quantity.  If  you  cannot  induce  your  man  to 
leave  the  windows  open,  send  for  a  carpenter  and  have  them 
taken  out,  making  all  safe  from  entry  by  means  of  iron  bars 
if  necessary.  The  dampest  and  most  unwholesome  stabling 
may  be  made  safe  and  sanitary  if  air  and  sun  are  freely 
admitted.  All  our  stabling  arrangements  have  been  adopted 
unchanged  from  those  of  other  countries,  whereas,  since 
almost  tropical  heat  prevails  here  at  times,  we  should  prepare 
for  it.  To  this  end  all  stall  partitions  should  be  slatted,  and 
all  such  divisions  be  movable  instead  of  permanent,  both 
on  account  of  cleanliness,  because  stalls  and  boxes  are  thus 
readily  interchangeable,  and  because  room  may  thus  be 
afforded  for  other  purposes.  What  a  curious  custom  is  that 
which  induces  an  owner  or  landlord  to  construct  a  "  six-stall " 
or  a  "  ten-stall "  or  a  "  one-stall "  stable  !  Why  not  so  arrange 
matters  that  stalls  may  be  put  up  anywhere — or  nearly  all 

175 


DRIVING 

cleared  away?  Thus  your  "six-stall"  could  accommodate 
at  will  either  twelve  or  fourteen  saddle  horses,  or  four  horses 
and  many  carriages,  according  to  demand — and  so  with  all 
such  buildings. 


176 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

FEEDING,    GROOMING,    SHOEING,    ETC. 

The  acquirement  and  preservation  of  health  in  the 
horse  under  the  conditions  attendant  upon  his  use  by  civiHsed 
man  depend  upon  the  proper  performance  of  the  acts  of  feed- 
ing, grooming  and  exercise.  As  the  old  saying  runs,  "The 
good  of  a  horse  goes  in  at  his  mouth,"  and  that  this  is,  broadly 
speaking,  very  true  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  beast  of 
moderate  class  will,  if  tended  in  first-rate  fashion,  approach 
more  nearly  the  abilities  of  excellence  than  that  other  which 
is,  however  good  in  himself,  ill-cared  for. 

By  proper  feeding  is  not  meant  the  mere  setting  before 
the  animal  thrice  daily  of  a  bunch  of  hay  and  a  feed  of  oats, 
relieved  occasionally  by  a  bran  mash.  This  ration,  however 
ample  in  quantity  and  excellent  in  quality,  is  cloying  from 
the  endless  repetition  so  usual  with  the  average  horse-keeper ; 
and  while  it  assuages  the  pangs  of  hunger,  it  fails  through 
lack  of  relish  to  nourish  as  it  should.  Condition  falls  away, 
the  horse  shrinks  in  flesh  and  grows  dull,  while  his  coat  is  as 
lifeless  as  his  eye,  the  indigestion  which  accompanies  this 
condition  being  as  much  an  effect  as  a  cause. 

Not  only  is  it  needful  that  the  diet  should  vary  in  taste, 
smell  and  appearance,  but  it  must  be  modified  according  to 
the  work  and  increased  or  diminished  as  necessary.  Atten- 
tion must  also  be  paid  to  the  relation  between  hours  of  feeding 
and  exercise,  and  matters  so  arranged  that  neither  the  pangs 
of  an  empty  stomach,  nor  the  discomfort  and  danger  ensuing 
from  work  performed  upon  a  full  one,  have  long  or  often  to 

177 


DRIVING 

be  endured.  Of  the  two,  the  evils  of  abstinence  are  the  least 
by  far,  as  it  entails  no  dangerous  sequels  in  the  way  of  colic, 
or  of  broken  wind  from  ruptured  air-cells  in  the  lungs 
caused  by  the  pressure  upon  them  of  the  diaphragm  when 
at  fast  work. 

The  hours  of  feeding,  as  arranged  in  the  ordinary  private 
or  public  stable,  are,  for  the  best  welfare  of  the  horse, 
separated  by  too  long  intervals  of  time,  and  he  accordingly 
is  likely  to  suffer  in  health  and  consequently  in  condition. 
The  hoiu"S  of  six,  twelve  and  six  leave  a  long  period  between 
feeds,  and  the  animal's  stomach  is  small,  his  assimilation 
rapid.  A  further  subdivision  is  best  but  not  generally 
convenient,  and  consequently  the  hours  of  the  two  late  meals 
are  apt  to  vary  considerably.  Six,  eleven,  two  and  seven 
make  better  meal  hours,  dividing  the  noon  feed  into  two. 
In  private  stables  the  horses  are  in  summer  frequently  not 
ordered  before  five  o'clock  or  even  later,  and  in  winter  the 
shopping  tours  of  the  morning  are  likely  to  keep  the  carriage 
out  until  about  lunch  time — one  to  one  thirty — so  that  it  is 
often  two  o'clock  before  the  second  feed  can  be  eaten.  A 
first-class  coachman  will  allow  for  and  make  up  for  these 
irregular  meals,  but  the  average  man  does  not  bother  about 
it,  as  his  charges  show.  A  late  feed,  at  nine  or  ten  o'clock, 
is  very  acceptable  to  shy  feeders,  and  many  of  these  make 
their  principal  meal  at  night,  when  all  is  still  and  their 
nervousness  is  allayed. 

The  quantity  of  feed  is  usually  ample,  its  quality  generally 
of  the  best,  but  there  is  too  much  sameness  of  provender — ■ 
too  little  attention  given  to  tempting  the  appetite,  to  varying 
the  flavour,  and  to  regulating  the  supply  to  the  demand, 
the  food  to  the  work.  If  all  were  hearty  "  doers, "  and 
if  the  hours  of  work  were  regular,  results  would  not  be  so 

178 


FEEDING,    GROOMING,    SHOEING,    ETC. 

bad;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  many  of  the  nervous,  fussy 
horses  are,  when  properly  handled,  the  very  best  and  most 
enduring,  well  worth  the  extra  time  and  trouble  necessary 
to  keep  up  their  condition  and  to  cater  to  their  preferences. 

The  essentials  of  feeding  are  good  materials,  regularly 
offered  and  cleared  away,  placed  in  sweet  and  clean  recep- 
tacles, variously  flavoured,  and  temptingly  blended. 

As  a  basis  of  all  equine  rations,  hay  deserves  first 
consideration.  An  average  horse  will  consume  about  twelve 
pounds  of  hay  daily,  the  larger  feeding  being  at  night.  A 
handful  at  the  noonday  meal,  if  the  animal  is  not  to  be  used 
at  fast  work  for  an  hour  or  two,  rather  assists  digestion  by 
distending  the  stomach,  and  is  a  welcome  addition  to  that 
meal.  Timothy  hay  of  the  coarsest  fiber  is  insisted  upon 
by  most  purchasers,  not  for  any  known  reason,  but  because 
they  have  been  instructed  that  such  fodder  is  the  best  for 
working  horses.  That  this  is  correct  of  the  race-horse  and 
the  trotter  in  training  is  true,  as  such  hay  is  intended  merely 
as  a  background  for  the  grain,  which  is  the  mainstay.  Some 
years  ago  all  hay  for  such  horses  was  pulled  through  (often 
very  dirty)  hands  to  remove  all  leaves  and  allow  only  the 
woody  stalks  to  remain,  but  as  horses  are  not  as  fine-drawn 
now  as  then,  more  sensible  methods  prevail  in  other  ways 
and  the  animals  are  allowed  practically  all  they  will  eat  of 
hay  or  anything  else.  Excessive  demand  for  this  coarse 
hay  has  put  the  price  up  to  a  prohibitive  extent,  and  as  there 
are  many  of  the  finer  and  clover-mixed  kinds  much  more 
nourishing  and  very  much  cheaper,  horse-keepers  will  do 
well  to  experiment,  and  will  derive  great  satisfaction  from 
many  of  the  less  expensive  mixed  kinds,  gaining  in  flavpur, 
saving  in  price,  and  helping  in  subsequent  condition.  Some 
of  these,  as  the  clover-mixed,  are  apt  to  be  dusty,  but  a 

179 


DRIVING 

slight  sprinkling  with  water  allays  that  objection,  while  the 
use  of  the  appetising  ingredients  recommended  further  on 
render  even  quite  poor  grades  perfectly  acceptable,  wholesome 
and  useful.  Such  economies  may  not  with  one  or  two  horses 
seem  worth  while,  but  where  a  number  are  kept  the  saving 
is  very  handsome.  The  finer  kinds  contain,  besides  timothy, 
red  top,  clover,  June-grass,  blue-grass,  sainfoin,  and  various 
other  herbs  and  grasses,  and,  given  an  equally  well-cured 
bunch  of  each,  animals  always  prefer  the  fine  to  the  coarse, 
which  is  nearly  pure  timothy.  No  hay  is  so  underestimated 
as  clover,  and  none  is  so  nourishing  and  wholesome.  We 
hear  much  about  the  "Kentucky  blue-grass"  and  nothing 
at  all  about  Kentucky  clover;  yet,  if  any  stock  farm  in  that 
region  is  visited,  the  bams  will  be  found  crammed  to  the 
roofs  with  clear  clover  hay — nothing  else — and  that  succulent 
fodder  it  is  which  develops  the  excellent  horses  which  come 
from  the  blue-grass  as  from  all  the  other  western  States. 
Green  or  cured  (cut-feed  or  long)  clover  deserves  the  title 
of  queen  of  the  grasses,  while  timothy,  save  for  its  bulk,  is 
not  especially  valuable.  This  is  directly  contrary  to  all 
accepted  practice  and  theory,  but  is  open  to  demonstration 
by  any  one  who  takes  sufficient  interest  in  his  dumb 
dependents  to  experiment  for  their  welfare. 

Oats  are  as  staple  as  hay,  and  here  again  we  are  in  the 
habit  of  placing  too  much  dependence  upon  the  best  white 
grain  and  overlooking  the  poorer  grades  or  the  blended, 
which  sell  cheaper  and  are  equally  as  useful  for  horses  during 
the  average  work  of  private  stables.  Boiled,  steamed, 
flavoured,  in  oatmeal,  etc.,  there  are  various  methods 
of  feeding  which  the  average  groom  never  troubles  his  head 
about,  but  keeps  on  with  the  old  routine  until  condition 
vanishes  and  either  he  or  his  charge  is  replaced. 

i8o 


FEEDING,  GROOMING,  SHOEING,  ETC. 

Com  is  little  valued  in  the  East,  yet  is,  particularly  in 
cold  weather,  a  most  useful  food,  especially  when  fed  on  the 
ear,  which  prevents  a  greedy  feeder  from  bolting  it  whole. 
It  is  a  very  strong,  fattening  food,  and  western-raised  horses 
will  eat  it  when  all  else  proves  distasteful.  The  cracked  com 
of  commerce  is  a  useful  addition  as  a  change  in  or  as  part  of 
a  ration,  and  either  it  or  the  ear  com  may  to  advantage  be 
soaked  for  twelve  hours  before  feeding.  Corn-meal  is  used 
with  cut  feed,  and  for  horses  at  slow  work,  when  combined 
with  oatmeal  in  proportion  of  one  to  two,  makes  an  excellent 
feed,  providing  precautions  are  taken  to  keep  the  animal's 
stomach  sweet. 

Bran,  middlings,  etc.,  may  well  be  blended  with  every 
feed,  either  dry  or  as  a  mash,  and  a  handful  or  two  will,  when 
fed  dry,  restrain  a  glutton.  There  is  nowadays,  thanks  to 
improved  milling  machinery,  but  little  if  any  nourishment 
in  these  articles,  but  they  assist  a  healthy  condition  of  the 
stomach  and  bowels,  and  therein  find  their  chief  use.  Bran 
mashes,  properly  made,  thoroughly  steamed  and  containing 
flaxseed  jelly,  sugar,  molasses,  etc.,  are  most  fragrant 
and  appetising,  and  five  quarts  or  more  of  such  a  mash 
should  be  the  portion  of  every  horse  on  Saturday  nights, 
or  if,  for  any  reason,  he  is  to  be  idle  for  a  few  days. 

Flaxseed  jelly  made  by  pouring  boiling  water  upon  the 
whole  seed  is  most  valuable,  and  a  half -pint  of  the  jelly 
twice  or  thrice  weekly  promotes  a  blooming  coat  and  is 
very  appetising  and  nourishing.  A  properly  made  bran- 
and-flaxseed  mash  smells  good  enough  to  tempt  a  himian 
being. 

Of  condiments  to  stimulate  appetite  and  to  promote 
flesh,  molasses  (the  cheapest  black  kind),  brown  sugar, 
salt,  ginger,  etc.,  are  all  valuable.     Water  sweetened  with 

i8i 


DRIVING 

molasses  and  sprinkled  over  hay  will  insure  its  consump- 
tion to  the  last  stalk,  while  the  same  treatment  to  grain 
will  cause  it  to  be  greedily  eaten.  Roots,  as  carrots,  etc., 
are  useful  to  give  a  fillip  to  the  appetite,  and  almost  any 
kind  but  potatoes  will  be  freely  eaten;  while  apples,  etc., 
sliced  up  in  a  quart  of  oats  for  a  dainty  feeder,  will  bring  his 
nose  to  the  manger.  A  daily  handful  or  two  of  grass  in 
season,  or  a  few  moments'  picking  at  pasture,  are  especially 
useful  when  a  horse  has  long  been  kept  in  the  city;  and 
a  sod,  if  placed  in  the  stall,  will  be  consumed,  roots,  dirt  and 
all.  Salt  is  a  necessity,  and  a  block  of  it  should  be  always 
within  reach  in  the  stall,  that  the  animal  may  take  what  his 
system  demands.  This  is  better  than  the  mingling  of  common 
or  of  Glauber  salts  with  the  meals  in  a  haphazard  fashion. 

If  cut-feed  is  regularly  fed,  condition  will  not  long 
obtain  unless  precautions  are  taken  to  keep  the  stomach 
sweet,  for  this  material  quickly  ferments.  The  following 
should  be  used   a  tablespoonful  to  each  feed: 

Bicarbonate  of  soda"| 

Gentian  >•  equal  parts 

Powdered  ginger       J 

The  chaff  should  always  be  cut  very  short,  and  the  mixture 
stand  for  several  hours  before  feeding. 

Water  copiously,  and  have  it  always  at  hand.  No 
horse  can  hold  or  gain  flesh,  do  well  or  be  well  if  he  is  not  a 
large  and  frequent  drinker.  Especially  late  at  night  does 
thirst  overpower  him,  when  he  has  stowed  away  a  large 
meal  of  dry  hay  and  grain;  yet,  as  ordinarily  kept,  he  has 
no  relief  in  sight  until  six  or  seven  next  day.  A  handful  of 
hay  the  very  first  thing  in  the  morning  will  make  horses  drink 
deeply  and  thus  clear  the  way  for  their  first  grain  feed. 
"Hay   tea,"   made   bv  pouring  boiling   water   on   cut   hay, 


I»2 


FEEDING,    GROOMING,    SHOEING,    ETC. 

steeping  it  and  using  the  fluid,  is  most  nourishing,  especially 
to  bad  feeders,  and  such  an  animal,  which  would  turn  faint 
at  the  sight  of  two  quarts  of  grain,  will  drink  eight  quarts 
of  "tea,"  containing  the  essence  of  eight  pounds  of  hay,  and 
a  pint  of  flaxseed  jelly — quite  a  square  meal.  For  old 
horses  also  this  "  tea  "  is  very  valuable,  and  for  those  which 
it  is  desired  to  fatten  quickly. 

Bedding  should  be  of  straw,  and  here  again  "handsome" 
wheat  or  oat  straw  may  often  be  found  nearly  as  good  as 
rye  and  not  one-third  as  costly.  Peat  moss  is  much  used, 
but  any  material  which  retains  the  fluids  cannot  be  health- 
ful, the  same  fact  applying  to  sawdust,  shavings,  etc. 
The  bed  should  be  deep,  well  laid  up  on  the  sides,  and 
frequently  renewed,  care  being  taken  that  the  portion  under 
the  animal's  forefeet  and  nose  is  clean  and  sweet,  not  reeking 
with  filth,  as  often  arranged.  Economy  in  bedding  is  poor 
policy  and  an  injustice  to  a  hard-working  beast,  while  proper 
rest  has  much  to  do  with  the  preservation  of  condition. 

Regarding  true  condition,  we  have  rather  grown  of  late 
into  accepting  or  demanding  for  it  a  false  appearance.  This 
has  come  about  through  the  omnipresent  horse-show,  where 
over-fattened  contestants  caper  for  a  few  moments  con- 
spicuously before  the  public  and  cause  us  to  accept  their 
overfull  outlines  as  the  indication  of  perfect  bodily  order 
for  hard,  fast  and  long-continued  work.  In  this  we  are 
generally  wrong,  and  experiment  will  prove  that  the  crest 
is  not  to  be  kept  up,  the  belly  down,  the  quarters  plump  and 
full,  if  steady,  hard  work  is  to  be  done,  but  that  this  obesity, 
catering  to  a  diseased  taste,  is  but  transient,  and  as  deceptive 
to  the  eye  as  to  the  hand,  trying  to  the  feet  and  legs,  clogging 
to  the  vitals,  the  muscles  and  the  externals,  and  masking 
under  the   imposition  of   copious   fat   bodily  imperfections 

183 


DRIVING 

which  are  not  infrequently  excessive.  The  average  show 
horse  is  at  least  twenty  per  cent,  too  bulky  to  perform  active 
labour  with  ease  or  safety  to  himself,  and  the  average 
owner  who  demands  steady  work  from  his  stable  will  find 
this  to  be  true. 

Condition  is  to  be  attained  and  maintained  only  by 
a  judicious  combination  of  feeding,  strapping  and  exercise. 
Not  one  of  the  three  alone  will  insure  it,  nor  will  any  two, 
but  a  judicious  blending  of  the  whole  is  essential,  and  that 
every  day,  week  and  month.  Condition  is  simply  the 
maintaining  of  the  animal  in  a  state  of  physical  vigour  and 
muscular  development  adequate  to  the  work  he  is  called 
upon  to  perform,  and  as  he  is  gradually  brought  up  to  that 
point,  so  should  he  be  gently  "eased  away"  if  from  any 
cause  his  labours  are  to  cease  or  to  become  intermittent. 
Thus  his  food  should  be  graduated  always  to  the  task — 
extra  amount  for  extra  work,  less  for  easier. 

Grooming  need  not  be  considered  in  detail,  but  it  should 
be  a  regular  massage — not  too  much  of  the  bruising,  battering, 
slam-bang  style  of  strapping  so  much  in  fashion  with  the 
old  school  of  hissing  grooms,  who  belaboured  their  charges 
with  "  swipe  "  and  twist  as  if  trying  to  stave  in  their  ribs,  but 
a  quiet,  gentle  cleansing,  not  only  by  brush,  comb  and 
wisp,  but  by  soap  and  water  as  well — for  the  bath  is  as 
soothing  and  grateful  to  the  quadruped  as  to  the  biped.  A 
good  shampoo  with  soap  and  water,  a  quick  scrape  and  a 
rub-out  never  hurt  any  horse  yet,  and  his  condition  is  all 
the  better  for  it.  Either  tepid  or  cold  water  may  be  used, 
and,  if  the  animal  is  very  valuable,  an  alcohol  shampoo  will 
close  the  pores  effectually.  A  tired  horse,  however,  should 
never  be  messed  about  needlessly,  but  dryly  clothed, 
bandaged  loosely,  and  left  alone  until  rested.     The  prejudice 

184 


FEEDING,    GROOMING,    SHOEING,    ETC. 

against  using  water  on  the  legs  is  not  well  founded  provided 
the  heels  are  dried.  What  is  there  against  the  copious  use 
of  water  internally  or  externally  that  causes  horse-keepers  to 
allow  it  so  sparingly  ?  A  man  in  training  pulls  off  his  reeking 
sweater  and  plunges  into  (and  out  of)  cold  water,  all  the 
better  for  the  reaction — and  the  same  effect  is  by  similar 
treatment  produced  upon  the  horse.  You  drink  ice-water 
when  hot — why  must  not  your  steed  absorb  a  few  quarts  of 
fluid  until  he  has  cooled  out,  being  meanwhile  nearly  wild 
with  thirst?  In  what  do  you  differ?  Give  your  horse  all 
the  water  he  needs,  so  long  as  it  is  not  colder  than  the  air 
and  his  circulation  and  respiration  are  regular ;  bathe  him 
freely,  but  dry  him  properly.  At  pasture  the  rains  soak 
him  for  hours  to  no  detriment.  If  you  by  your  fostering  ( ?) 
care  have  brought  him  to  such  a  pass  that  he  cannot  bear  a 
little  exposure,  your  policy  in  regard  to  him  is  all  wrong 
and  should  be  changed.  A  horse  is  meant  to  resist  exposure : 
it  is  good  for  him  and  natural  to  him,  and  you  should  see 
that    he    gets    it. 

To  say  that  shoeing  has  any  bearing  upon  the  condition 
of  the  body  sounds  radical,  yet  reflection  will  convince  one 
that,  even  as  a  supposition,  it  need  not  be  contrary  to  fact. 
Anything  that  effects  comfort  and  ease,  affects  condition, 
and  the  fit  and  set  of  shoes  have  much  to  do  with  the  matter. 
Scientific  shoeing  is  now  so  general,  and  special  necessities 
receive  such  able  and  prompt  attention  from  smiths,  that 
there  is  no  excuse  for  other  than  perfect  fit  and  perfect  feet. 
Special  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  fact  that  the  feet 
perspire,  and  no  blacking  or  other  nasty  messes  should  ever 
be  allowed  to  clog  their  pores  and  disfigure  their  natural 
beauty ;  nor  should  the  rasp  ever  touch  the  delicate  and  glossy 
covering,  as  is  so  generally  allowed.    A  wipe  over  with  a  damp 

i8s 


DRIVING 

sponge  is  all  that  is  ever  necessary,  and  the  blackened  or 
greased  hoof  is  covered  with  dust  before  the  horse  has  taken 
ten  steps  outside.  In  the  same  way,  nothing  but  water 
should  touch  the  sole,  and  a  wet  sponge  confined  therein  by  a 
bit  of  steel  is  better  far  than  all  the  stoppings  so  popular  with 
grooms;  while  wet  swabs  tied  around  the  coronet  afford 
moisture  enough  to  keep  the  feet  healthily  growing.  As  the 
foundation  is  to  the  house,  so  is  the  foot  and  its  protection  to 
the  horse,  and,  far  as  we  have  advanced,  we  are  yet  too  much 
hampered  by  tradition  and  by  obstinacy  to  realise  the  vital 
importance  of  the  proper  shoeing  and  treatment  of  the  feet. 
Beyond  a  doubt,  the  Charlier  system — whereby  the  shoe 
is  fitted  in  a  narrow  groove  drawn  by  a  specially  made 
instrument  in  the  horn — is  most  valuable,  practical  and 
useful,  leaving  the  entire  sole  and  frog  in  a  state  of  nature 
and  protecting  the  parts  that  need  it;  while,  from  the  very 
narrowness  of  the  shoe,  pricking  is  unlikely  and  interfering 
usually  corrected.  To  be  sure,  its  application  requires  a 
good  smith,  and,  equally  sure,  his  bills  will  decrease.  This 
form  being  discarded,  the  shoe,  which  is  fiat  next  the  foot 
and  concave  next  the  ground,  nearly  follows  the  shape  of 
the  natural  ground  surface  and  is  very  effective.  All  shoes 
should  always  be  filed  smooth  on  the  side  next  the  horn;, 
they  should  fit  the  foot  (not  the  foot  them) ;  should  be  nailed 
with  nails  well  slanted  and  taking  a  shallow  hold,  that  the 
holes  may  be  near  the  ground  surface  and  quickly  grow 
down ;  the  nails  should  be  driven  with  sundry  gentle  blows 
rather  than  two  or  three  whacks;  not  drawn  too  tightly; 
neatly  filed  as  to  clinches,  and  these  smoothly  turned  down 
and  in;  the  sole  and  heels  should  be  untouched;  the  frog 
ditto;  not  a  tool  used  for  this  work,  but  the  rasp  to  shorten 
the  toe  and  level  the  walls.     The  dead  sole  will  slough  away 

1 86 


FEEDING,    GROOMING,    SHOEING,    ETC. 

of  itself.  The  shoe  should  always  be  a  little  "sprung"  at 
the  heels — just  clear  of  them — that  they  may  expand 
naturally,  and  not  more  than  five  nails  should  be  used. 

Personally,  the  writer  has  derived  great  satisfaction 
from  the  use  of  the  tip,  and  even  from  leaving  the  feet  bare 
when  horses  were  used  only  over  country  roads.  The  tip, 
slight,  narrow,  and  fitting  in  a  groove  drawn  in  the  ground 
surface  of  the  toe,  so  that  its  bottom  just  comes  below  the 
foot,  affords  really  the  only  protection  which  the  normal 
foot  requires,  and  even  that  one  which  has  been  long  used  to 
full  protection  will,  if  allowed,  quickly  develop  remarkable 
powers  of  secretion  and  growth  and  become  a  regular  slab 
of  horn,  with  a  great  frog  filling  out  the  strong  heels  and 
quarters,  and  all  bearings  falling  as  nature  meant  they 
should.  Only  three  nails  fasten  the  tip,  and  it  extends  round 
the  toe  only,  the  groove  in  the  horn  preventing  it  from 
springing  or  becoming  displaced.  For  economy  and  practical 
usefulness  there  is  no  better  shoe,  but,  of  course,  for  steady 
work  on  pavements,  or  for  balancing  the  fast  trotter  or  the 
high  stepper,  other  fashions  of  shoeing  are  necessary. 

The  bare  foot  is  perfectly  practical  in  all  cases  where  the 
animal  is  used  in  the  country,  provided  his  natural  foot  is 
strong — as  it  almost  invariably  is — and  that  precautions 
are  taken  to  keep  the  horn  growing  fast  and  properly  levelled, 
and  to  lay  the  horse  aside  for  a  day  or  two  if  he  becomes  a 
trifle  foot-sore  through  long  journeys  or  the  attrition  of 
gravelly  roads.  Especially  in  winter  is  this  useful,  and 
no  horses  ever  need  shoeing  then;  nor  will  the  animal  so 
treated  interfere,  over-reach,  speedy  cut,  or  have  corns, 
quarter-crack,  quitters,  or  any  of  the  ills  which  feet  are  heir 
to;  and  the  same  advantages  obtain  as  from  the  use  of  tips, 
while  economy  is  in  both  cases  greatly  augmented. 

187 


DRIVING 

The  rubber  pad,  now  so  generally  and  satisfactorily  in 
use  upon  the  feet  of  all  fashionable  city  carriage  horses,  etc., 
is  most  essential  wherever  the  asphalt  pavement  is  in  use, 
is  a  very  safe  form  of  foot-covering,  and  affords  a  really 
secure  foothold  over  slippery  streets.  It  resembles  closely 
the  surface  of  the  natural  foot,  and  is,  while  as  yet  expensive, 
thoroughly  competent  for  the  task,  its  one  drawback  being 
that  it  is  apt  to  render  a  horse  a  little  careful  in  his  movements 
if  he  has  weak  quarters,  as  the  rubber  tends  to  spread  them 
constantly.  The  pad  will  be  improved  when  it  does  not 
entirely  cover  the  sole,  as  at  present  the  leather  contains 
dirt,  etc. — more  than  is  wholesome.  There  exists  a  crying 
need  for  a  cheap  pad  which  is  within  the  reach  of  the  poor 
man,  if  not  for  daily  use,  at  least  in  time  of  emergency,  as 
after  a  sudden  rain  and  freeze — something  that  can  be  slipped 
or  buckled  on  and  enable  him  to  reach  his  stable  in  safety. 
Asphalt  pavements  seem  likely  to  be  universal,  and  shoes  or 
pads  must  be  invented  which  will  render  locomotion  over 
it  safe  and  easy,  although  regular  and  slight  sanding  will 
greatly  help  matters. 


i88 


CHAPTER  XIX 

STABLING    AND    STALLS 

Any  arrangement  of  stabling  which  ignores  the  fact 
that  our  American  cHmate  is  unique  in  that  it  combines  in 
most  locaHties  extreme  heat  and  cold  will  not  afford  to  the 
owner  or  the  equine  occupants  the  satisfaction  it  should. 
Thermometric  variations  from  90°  and  more  above  to  10° 
below  zero  mark  a  wide  range  of  temperature,  and  while 
warmth  can  always  be  secured  by  artificial  means  if  neces- 
sary, coolness  is  not  as  easily  and  imiformly  provided. 

Solid  and  high  stall  partitions  entail  much  discomfort 
to  the  occupants  in  hot  weather,  since  each  apartment  inter- 
feres with  the  free  circulation  of  air.  If  owners  would  visit 
their  stalls  upon  a  steaming  July  night  at  about  2  a.  m.  they 
would  be  amazed  to  notice  the  range  of  the  mercury,  the 
quality  of  the  atmosphere  and  the  condition  of  the  horses. 

Slatted  stalls,  or,  better  and  more  economical  still,  the 
swinging  "bails,"  will  allow  free  circulation  to  the  reclining 
or  standing  animals,  and  will  maintain  a  current  of  air  not 
only  overhead,  but  near  the  floor,  which  will  minimise  the 
carbonic  gases  to  the  least  possible  quantity  and  assist 
hygiene  in  every  way.  Probably  there  is  nothing  more 
genuinely  essential  to  satisfactory  stabling  than  this  generally 
neglected  point. 

That  the  essentials  of  stabling  appeal  as  directly  as  they 
might  to  either  owner  or  architect  is  rarely  the  case.  Undue 
deference  is  paid  to  externals,  and  the  arrangements  indoors 
are  frequently  neither  as  convenient,  as  consecutive,  nor  as 

189 


DRIVING 

wholesome  as  they  might  be.  Comphcated  systems  of 
drainage  and  ventilation  are  never  desirable,  however 
attractive  they  may  be  to  building  enthusiasts  and  to 
opulent  proprietors. 

Everything  should  be  practical,  inexpensive  and  com- 
pact, constructed  not  especially  with  regard  to  careful  and 
suitable  usage,  but  scaled  down  to  a  point  where  the  average 
stable  hand  can  do  them  no  harm,  however  rampant  the 
neglect. 

Firstly,  we  need  exposure  of  the  building  suitable  for  the 
welfare  of  its  equine  occupants;  secondly,  air  and  light  in 
abundance;  thirdly,  complete  and  cheap  drainage;  fourthly, 
freedom  from  damp,  which  ample  light  and  air  will  insure; 
fifthly,  convenience  of  all  internal  arrangements,  and  ample 
room  for  horses,  vehicles,  etc.,  and  for  working  about  them; 
lastly,  accommodations  for  servants,  for  hay,  grain,  etc. 

The  apartments  for  the  horses  require  an  exposure  that 
shall  cause  as  slight  variations  as  possible  in  the  temperature, 
and  for  this  reason  a  northern  and  western  outlook,  as  being 
least  affected  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  gives  best  results. 
Much  illness  among  the  occupants  can  be  traced  to  neglect 
in  this  particular,  and  the  variations  caused  by,  for  instance, 
a  southern  exposure  in  the  winter  months  is  very  great  during 
the  twenty-four  hours.  Horses  will  endure,  and  be  all  the 
better  for,  any  amount  of  cold,  if  only  it  be  uniform.  If  the 
stalls  must  be  placed  upon  the  south  side,  there  should  be 
awnings  or  a  veranda  arranged  over  the  windows  upon  that 
side,  as  well  to  moderate  the  heat  as  the  glare  of  the  sun. 
The  coach-house,  on  the  contrary,  needs  all  the  sun  it  can 
get,  that  it  may  be  always  dry  and  sweet  and  the  carriages 
easily  sunned  and  aired,  as  they  should  frequently  be  to 
prevent  harm  to  varnish,  linings,  brasses  and  steels. 

190 


STABLING  AND   STALLS 

Light  in  the  stable  will  be  best  arranged  if  it  can  come 
from  overhead,  through  skylights  or  high  up  in  the  stalls, 
and  in  no  way  can  complete  ventilation  be  more  certainly 
obtained.  No  glaring  windows,  low  down,  should  be  per- 
mitted, and  if  any  such  must  be  included  they  should  be  in 
the  rear  of  the  stalls,  or,  if  at  the  head,  be  heavily  gray- 
washed,  that  the  blaze  of  light  may  be  modified  as  much  as 
possible.  This  is  effected  by  mixing  lampblack  with  white- 
wash to  the  desired  shade.  Frequent  gas  jets  or  the  not  more 
costly  electricity  will  give  plenty  of  light  at  night,  and  there 
should  be  no  dark  comers  which  cannot  be  illuminated  at  need. 

Contrive  all  the  ventilation  possible  for  both  the  carriages 
and  the  horses,  and  when  this  is  done  strive  by  every  means 
to  get  more.  No  stable  ever  yet  had  enough  air,  and  the 
nearer  we  can  come  to  the  open  atmosphere  the  better  for 
every  animate  and  inanimate  thing  in  the  building.  Horses 
not  only  do  better,  last  longer  and  work  more  enduringly, 
but  those  afflicted  with  trouble  in  their  breathing  will  be 
different  creatures  if  thus  himianely  kept.  The  skylight 
advocated  over  the  gangway  behind  the  stalls  should 
have  its  sashes  arranged  to  swing  or  lower  by  means  of  pul- 
leys, and  even  if  these  are  tight-shut  the  crevices  will  afford 
some  ventilation,  while  direct  draught  is  avoided.  Foul 
air  will  rise,  contrary  to  general  supposition.  Overhead 
windows  above  the  stall-fronts,  hinged  at  the  bottom  and 
telescoping  into  frames,  so  that  there  is  no  side  draught, 
facilitate  airiness  and .  free  circulation.  The  horse  apart- 
ment in  winter  should  range  about  65°,  and  if  we 
can  by  any  means  hold  the  thermometer  near  that  point 
the  year  round  we  shall  do  well.  The  simplest  drainage 
system  is  invariably  the  best  for  stable  use,  and  all  curiously 
devised  arrangements  of  sinks,  traps,  etc.,  afford  poor  satis- 

191 


DRIVING 

faction  to  every  one  but  the  plumber.  Servants  are  too 
careless,  and  the  chief  point  in  the  matter  is  to  arrange  some- 
thing that  will  freely  drain,  and  be  a  telltale  upon  the  sloth- 
ful fellow  who  neglects  to  care  for  it.  A  galvanised  iron 
receptacle  at  the  end  of  each  row  of  stalls  in  the  gangway, 
large  enough  to  contain  the  probable  fluids  of  twelve  or 
twenty-four  hours,  set  into  a  small  pit  sunk  into  the  floor 
into  which  the  drains  directly  lead,  is  by  far  the  best,  simplest 
and  cleanest  plan  to  follow.  If  not  emptied  regularly,  it 
simply  flows  over,  and  that  is  all  there  is  to  it;  while  the 
short  drains  make  easy  flushing,  and  present  no  traps, 
curves  or  angles  to  obstruct.  An  iron  or  wooden  cover 
makes  the  pit  safe,  and  several  of  these  can  be  arranged  in 
a  large  stable;  while,  as  the  gutters  are  open  or  lightly 
covered,  they  can  be  swept  down  and  disinfected  daily.  The 
stable  floors  of  asphalt  slope  steeply  to  this  gutter  at  heel, 
but  the  plank  stall-floors  are  so  bevelled  on  the  bottom  from 
front  to  rear  that  they  afford  a  level  footing.  These  floors 
are  either  hinged  at  the  sides  and  made  to  lift  up  like  cellar 
doors,  or  the  three  or  four  middle  slats  are  removable,  and  all 
can  be  daily  washed  and  swept  clean,  not  only  as  to  the 
slats,  but  as  to  the  floor  underneath.  If  deep  gutters  and 
hidden  drains  are  most  approved,  the  drains  of  the  carriage 
wash-stand  and  the  harness-room  sink  should  lead  into  them, 
so  that  the  large  volume  of  water  constantly  flowing  therefrom 
will  cleanse  the  stall  drains  thoroughly.  Into  such  drains 
solutions  of  copperas  should  be  frequently  poured. 

Thorough  ventilation  and  the  use  in  the  carriage-  and 
harness-rooms  of  artificial  heat  will  prevent  an  undue  amount 
of  dampness  from  accumulating  there.  Wooden  walls  are 
dryer  than  brick  in  this  climate,  and  if  these  are  sheathed 
and    wainscotted    they    will    be    found  highly   satisfactory. 

192 


STABLING    AND    STALLS 

Basement  stabling  is  apt  to  be  damp  and  consequently 
unheal  thful. 

To  keep  servants  contented  and  to  expedite  stable  work 
convenience  of  arrangement  is  vitally  necessary.  Nothing 
annoys  a  really  good  groom  like  unhandiness  of  details,  and 
they  soon  grow  tired  of  aimlessly  running  hither  and  thither 
for  the  articles  which  should  be  close  at  hand.  From  hamess- 
and  cleaning-rooms  to  feed-bins  and  hay-loft,  everything 
should  be  easily  accessible;  all  procedure  in  putting-to  and 
unharnessing  definitely  consecutive  and  orderly.  Thus  the 
naked  horse  passes  from  his  stall,  via  the  harness-room  door, 
to  the  waiting  vehicle,  and  reverses  the  process  on  return, 
arriving  in  his  stall  clean  and  tidy,  the  carriage  rolling  forth- 
with to  the  wash-stand,  and  thence  into  its  place.  Faucets 
should  fill  buckets,  etc.,  quickly;  hot  water  in  plenty  should 
be  easy  to  get;  the  hay  and  grain  should  land  from  above  in 
the  most  convenient  places;  and  the  manure  pit  should  be 
accessible  and  easy  to  empty,  the  closets  roomy  and  fully 
shelved.  No  cupboards,  sure  to  harbour  odds  and  ends  and 
dirt,  should  be  permitted,  but  all  such  places  should  be  wide 
open  and  placed  where  the  master  can  investigate  them 
without  pulling  the  contents  all  about. 

The  most  important  detail  is  the  accommodation  for 
horses.  The  stalls  and  boxes  should  certainly,  in  America, 
be  slatted,  and  not  of  solid  material,  the  slats  being  quite 
as  strong  as  solid  planking.  Horses  do  far  better,  eat  better 
and  are  quieter  and  happier  if  they  can  see  freely  on  all  sides. 
Hay  should  be  fed  from  the  floor  always,  nor  will  any  serious 
waste  accrue,  for  what  they  leave  on  the  floor  they  would  also 
leave  in  a  rack.  Feed-boxes  should  be  movable,  that  they 
may  be  taken  out,  washed  and  sunned.  Water  should  stand 
in  every  stall,  and  these  buckets  should  never  be  used  under 

193 


DRIVING 

any  pretext  for  any  other  purpose.  Earth  floors,  made  like  a 
macadam  road  and  well  covered,  are  the  best,  of  cotirse,  but 
cannot  easily  be  made  in  city  stables.  Servants  should  not 
room  directly  over  the  horses,  as  they  will  annoy  them  by 
careless  movements.  Hay  and  grain,  if  stored  in  lofts,  should 
have  chutes  (which  will  also  assist  ventilation)  arranged 
at  places  handy  for  delivery,  and,  if  there  is  space  to 
spare,  as  in  the  country,  arranging  for  sleeping-rooms 
and  storage  for  feed  upon  the  first  story  will  lessen  the 
cost  of  the  entire  building. 


194 


CHAPTER  XX 

CARRIAGES    AND    THEIR   CARE 

A  VERY  successful  man  in  the  management  of  his  stable, 
carriages,  etc.,  was  always  pooh-poohing  the  idea  that  expen- 
sive fittings  were  necessary,  that  damp  coach-houses  were 
inadvisable,  or  that  anything  more  than  the  merest  skeleton 
of  a  roof  and  walls  was  in  our  climate  either  economical  or 
desirable.  He  was  accustomed  to  point  to  his  own  equipages 
as  permanent  and  indisputable  testimony  to  the  correctness 
of  his  theory — or  rather  practice,  since  his  plan  had  little  of 
theory  in  it.  He  simply  took  care  that  on  fine  days  all 
the  vehicles  which  were  not  used  were  sunned — not  left  for 
hours  in  a  blaze,  which  might  well  have  faded  linings  and 
cracked  roofs,  but  drawn  outdoors,  protected  by  their  cover- 
ings of  duck  and  linen,  and  with  these  raised  upon  the  sides, 
and  the  doors,  etc.  (of  closed  carriages),  wide  open,  he  insured 
their  receiving  a  thorough  airing  which  not  only  kept  them 
sweet  and  free  from  mustiness  internally,  but  kept  the  linings, 
trimmings,  etc.,  in  a  perfectly  dry  condition.  He  contended 
that,  given  a  carriage-house  of  ordinary  sanitary-  conditions, 
the  men  were  sure  to  keep  it  too  much  closed  and  not  half 
aired,  while  the  washing  constantly  going  on  promoted  a 
constant  dampness  which  the  average  weather  conditions 
assisted,  and  in  consequence  mouldiness  was  bound  to  obtain. 
Even  his  harnesses  were  daily  hung  in  the  open,  after  cleaning, 
that  the  last  vestige  of  dampness  might  be  removed,  as  he 
believed  much  harm  came  from  the  perpetual  washing,  and 
that  stitches  were  prematurely  rotted  thereby.     Certainly  no 

19s  , 


DRIVING 

one  obtained  better  results,  and  as  surely  every  owner  should 
see  to  it,  that  however  well  ventilated  his  carriage-house, 
its  contents  should,  unless  used,  be  drawn  out  into  the  sun  and 
aired  for  several  hours  at  least  twice  a  week.  Like  everything 
else,  it  is  the  neglect  of  unconsidered  trifles  which  affects  the 
condition  and  duration  of  usefulness  of  a  vehicle.  The 
capable  coachman  is  constantly  pottering  about  his  carriages, 
wishing  to  know  for  himself  that  all  is  well,  and  the  cautious 
owner  will  insist  upon  it  that  proper  supervision  is  maintained 
by  his  stable  force  regarding  all  those  little  details  of  wear 
and  tear  which  are  so  gradual,  almost  imperceptible,  and  so 
generally  neglected  until  either  the  vehicle  must  go  to  the 
wheelwright's  for  elaborate  repairs  or  a  general  smash  comes, 
and,  like  the  "  wonderful  one-hoss  shay,  "  it  falls  all  to  pieces, 
or  is  found  to  be  past  repair.  A  wrench  should  be  placed  on 
all  nuts  and  bolts  at  least  monthly;  a  little  japan  will  keep 
steps,  whiffletree,  pole-ends  and  other  points  exposed  to 
wear  looking  fresh,  these  needing  attention  constantly;  the 
leather  of  tops,  dashers,  wings,  etc.,  needs  constant  care, 
lubrication  and  dressing;  the  "fifth  wheel"  and  king-pin  need 
attention;  the  window- wells  and  the  floors  must  be  properly 
dried;  the  lining  brushed,  beaten,  and  any  stains  removed; 
the  carpets  kept  cleaned,  and  the  leather  trimming  fresh 
looking;  any  cracks  in  roof  or  panel  given  instant  care,  the 
paint  and  varnish  looked  after,  and  the  latter  when  freshly 
applied  given  ample  time  to  harden,  and  this  process  hastened 
by  washing  it  a  few  times  before  it  is  used  at  all,  and  then  dried 
as  fast  as  washed,  so  that  the  water  may  not  spot  it;  all  cur- 
tains, boots,  etc.  (as  of  buggies,  rockaways,  etc.),  which  are 
either  folded  away  under  the  seat  or  rolled  up  under  the 
dasher  or  up  to  the  roof,  should  be  frequently  aired  and  kept 
well  suppled;  no  squeaking  should  proceed  from  springs  or 

196 


CARRIAGES   AND   THEIR   CARE 

parts  of  the  running  gear,  but  all  should  be  touched  as  needed 
with  a  lubricant,  as  castor  oil,  etc. ;  no  grease  or  grit  should 
be  allowed  to  collect  about  the  hubs  or  the  circle,  for  these 
should  be  properly  cleaned  at  every  washing  with  soap  and 
water.  Camphor  balls  are  useful  if  carriages  are  laid 
away,  but  if  the  stable  discipline  is  perfect  even  these  are 
hardly  necessary,  as  the  daily  attentions  will  prevent  moths 
from  making  depredations.  The  dusters  should  be  of  the 
softest  feathers,  and  that  for  the  body  especially  should 
always  be  of  the  newest.  No  dusting,  of  course,  takes  the 
place  of  washing,  but  a  whisking  over  is  always  a  needful 
preliminary  to  going  out,  though  even  then  perhaps  a  large 
soft  linen  is  fully  as  effective,  certainly  less  costly,  and 
lasts  longer. 

The  wash-stand,  if  outdoors,  should  never  be  exposed  to 
the  sun,  and  always  well  elevated,  that  any  spattering  of 
muddy  water  may  be  avoided,  nothing  but  cold  water  being 
used.  A  vehicle  should  be  washed  as  soon  after  coming 
in  as  possible — before  the  mud  hardens,  if  that  can  be  man- 
aged; but  if  not,  every  bit  of  dirt  must  be  well  softened 
and  literally  "washed"  away  by  copious  floods  of  water — 
not  scraped  off  with  a  wet  sponge,  taking  varnish  and  all 
with  it,  as  a  slovenly  servant  will  do — though  this  does  not 
mean  that  the  hose  should  throw  too  strong  a  stream,  thereby 
forcing  the  grit  away  before  it  is  thoroughly  softened,  and  also 
possibly  forcing  water  inside  panels,  window  wells,  etc.,  to 
their  detriment.  Especially  must  all  grit  be  removed  from 
around  bolt-heads,  the  leaves  and  angles  of  springs,  etc., 
and  every  place  where  there  is  a  joint  or  a  chance  for  any 
foreign  substance  to  affect  the  free  working  or  increase  the 
play  of  the  joint,  hinge,  etc.  When  perfectly  washed  it 
must  be  as  thoroughly  dried,  and  two  chamois,  one  for  the 

197 


DRIVING 

body  and  one  for  the  gear,  are  desirable,  as  are  two  sponges, 
one  especially  large  and  soft  for  the  body,  etc.,  and  another 
smaller  one  for  the  wheels.  If  a  carriage  has  a  folding  top,  the 
top  should  always  be  kept  up  when  housed,  lest  the  leather 
crack  and  the  ribs,  etc.,  lose  their  shape;  linseed  oil  should 
be  applied  at  proper  intervals,  as  after  a  thorough  soaking 
rain,  etc.,  and  neat's-foot  oil  should  be  used  in  dressing  any 
oil  leather,  as  boots,  safety  straps,  etc.  All  the  metal 
parts  on  lamps,  mouldings,  etc.,  should  be  kept  brightly 
polished  by  the  use  of  plate  powder  and  chamois,  and  the 
windows  kept  spotlessly  clean  by  the  use  of  whiting  paste  and 
the  ever-useful  chamois.  The  needful  care  of  wheels  and  axles 
nowadays  is  much  simplified,  as  the  patent  axles  will  run 
a  long  time  untouched,  but  as  they  are  of  very  delicate 
mechanism  it  is  better  that  an  arrangement  should  be  made 
with  a  carriage  builder  to  inspect  and  grease  them  at  certain 
times,  this  tending  to  their  durability  and  the  maintaining 
of  a  satisfactory  condition  in  them.  Should  a  wheel  ever 
"  set "  when  in  use,  it  may  be  regarded  as  fair  evidence  that 
another  head  man  is  desirable,  and  as  an  indication  that  as 
such  an  occurrence  is  significant  of  inexcusable  negligence, 
other  departments  under  his  charge  are  probably  as  care- 
lessly handled.  In  fact,  such  a  happening  affords  as  good 
ground  for  instant  dismissal  as  would  drunkenness.  For 
greasing  ordinary  wheels,  castor  oil  is  the  best  lubricant; 
the  spindles  should  always  be  carefully  cleaned  and  wiped 
dry  with  a  turpentined  rag;  just  enough  oil  should  be  applied 
to  cover  the  arm  thoroughly  and  not  to  drip,  and  the  nut 
when  screwed  up  should  be  carefully  started  in  order  not  to 
hurt  the  threads  of  the  screw. 

All  pole-crabs,  unless  japanned,  should  be  thoroughly  and 
regularly  polished  with  sand  and  water,  finished  with  a  steel 

198 


CARRIAGES    AND    THEIR    CARE 

chain  polisher;  chains,  etc.,  if  used,  are  poHshed  by  swinging 
them  in  a  cloth  or  canvas  bag,  a  la  an  Indian  club  swinger, 
and,  if  not  to  be  immediately  used,  rubbed  over  with  a  little 
oil  on  a  rag.  Poles  should  be  most  carefully  handled  when 
in  the  house,  and  provided  with  a  rest  which  will  thoroughly 
and  evenly  support  them  throughout.  They  should  not  be 
hung,  as  they  may  warp  and  crack,  nor  stood  up,  as  they  may 
fall  or  spring.  The  rivets,  etc.,  about  the  pole-head  should 
be  constantly  examined,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  safety 
would  be  assisted  by  continuing  the  braces  of  the  pole-head 
further  along  the  pole  than  they  usually  are  made.  A  head 
is  easily  twisted  off,  and  when  this  happens  it  is  almost 
invariably  the  occasion  of  a  very  bad  accident.  For  the  same 
reason,  safety  straps  on  poles  or  shafts  should  be  much 
stronger  than  at  present  provided.  The  neck-yoke,  used  on 
the  swinging  pole,  is  dangerous  in  that  its  holder  is  made  of 
leather  onlv,  the  stitches  of  which  are  sure  to  rot  in  time  and 
the  leather  to  crack  The  yoke  should  be  provided  with  an 
iron  ring  inside  the  leather,  thus  greatly  strengthening  and 
safeguarding  it.  The  pole-straps  should  be  kept  as  flexible 
as  possible,  thoroughly  oiled  and  cared  for,  and  inspected  as 
to  stitching  and  to  see  that  the  buckle-tongues  are  not  by 
any  chance  bent,  but  rest  fairly  in  the  buckles.  This  buckle 
is,  next  to  that  on  the  top  of  the  hames,  the  most  important 
in  the  equipment — and  the  least  regarded. 

Two-wheeled  vehicles  should  always  be  supported  as  to 
their  shafts  by  wooden  horses  which  will  keep  the  vehicles  in 
about  the  position  they  occupy  when  horses  are  attached, 
thus  preventing  any  bending  and  warping  of  the  shafts.  All 
pole-rests,  etc.,  should  be  leather-covered,  that  paint  may  not 
be  bruised,  and  as  nowadays  the  patent  shaft-couplings 
allow  all  poles  and  shafts  on  American-made  vehicles  to  be 

199 


DRIVING 

almost  instantly  detachable,  proper  hangers  should  be  pro- 
vided for  them,  also  leather-covered,  and  each  should  have 
its  own  hanging-place,  being  suspended  by  the  cross-bar 
from  two  wooden  or  iron  rests,  thus  protected. 

Carriage  robes  should  be  daily  brushed,  spots  carefully 
sought  and  removed  with  benzine,  etc.,  and  aired  as  regularly 
as  the  carriages,  that  no  stable  smell  or  mustiness  may  be 
noticeable  and  scent  the  owner's  clothes  disagreeably.  Bind- 
ings should  be  kept  fresh,  and  the  metal  disks  common  on 
driving  aprons  nicely  polished. 

Rubber  tires,  now  all  but  universal,  should  always  be 
in  good  order.  These  inventions  are  invaluable,  not  only  as 
increasing  comfort,  but  as  so  lessening  the  jar  and  vibration, 
that  all  vehicles  last  much  longer. 


200 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE    HARNESS    AND    ITS    CARE 

Never  economise  on  harness.  Cheap  horse,  second- 
hand vehicle,  a  milkman  coachman,  if  you  must,  but  for  the 
sake  of  all  the  "entities"  and  "ologies"  let  your  harness 
be  of  the  best  material,  the  most  conservative  construction — 
on  the  grounds  of  safety  if  on  no  others;  because  it  is  the 
connecting  link  between  horse  and  vehicle  if  nothing  else, 
and  therefore  should  be  strong;  because  it,  like  your  own 
garments,  classifies  you  to  the  world  at  large  as  a  "  snob  or 
a  nob,"  and  therefore  should  be  quiet  and  appropriate. 
You  may  prefer,  or  your  means  may  compel  you  to  put  up 
with,  ordinary  horses  and  unpretentious  carriages,  but  every 
reason — real  economy,  self-appreciation  and  ordinary  intelli- 
gence— forbids  the  "  common  or  garden"  ready-made  harness 
and  $17.98,  and  insists  upon  the  hand-made,  reliable,  well- 
proportioned  and  attractive  harness  of  at  least  $50  for  single 
and  $150  for  double.  For  another  reason,  be  your  beginnings 
as  unpretentious  as  may  be,  you  must  have  a  standard  to 
"live  up  to,"  a  goal  of  excellence  you  would  reach — we  all 
have  in  every  detail  of  life.  Therefore,  your  harness,  as  the 
least  expensive  commodity  to  obtain  of  first-class  quality, 
in  the  first  place  affords  you  a  mark  at  which  to  shoot — and 
as  neither  before  a  second-hand  carriage  nor  upon  a  second- 
rate  horse  does  it  appear  really  well,  your  inclination  tends 
along  directions  ever  upward  and  onward  to  the  tasteful 
realms  of  harmonious  equipage,  and  before  you  know  it  you  are 
"  taking  notice"  as  never  before  of  the  eternal  fitness  of  things 

201 


DRIVING 

in  matters  pertaining  to  the  equine  and  his  accouterments, 
and  are  by  way  of  joining  that  vast  and  increasing  army  of 
horse-fanciers  who  take  pride  and  pleasure  in  being  well 
"turned  out,"  not  only  for  personal  gratification,  but  also 
as  an  educational  departure  for  the  general  public.  Our 
parks  and  roads  prove  that  the  first  ambitions  of  a  citizen 
tend  to  vehicular  extravagance,  and  that  the  $2,000  carriage 
drawn  by  a  $400  pair  of  horses  caparisoned  in  a  $100  set 
of  harness  is  more  frequent  than  pleasing.  The  adventurers 
have  hold  of  the  wrong  end  of  the  stick,  and  will  probably 
retain  it.  There  is  little  hope  for  them — there  is  much  for 
you  if  you  evade  their  errors. 

Simplicity  and  good  form  are  synonymous  in  equipments 
as  in  everything  else — the  garish  and  the  elegant  go  never 
hand-in-hand;  the  bizarre  and  the  appropriate  do  not  herd 
together.  Severe  simplicity  is  the  "best  form,"  but  it 
demands  that  all  accessories  shall  be  as  elegantly  perfect  to 
lend  to  the  ensemble  that  air  of  good  taste  which  we  all  desire. 
Even  sombemess  may  be  truly  elegant — often  is — if  all 
accessories  are  suitable  and  in  good  taste. 

Some  definite  plan  should  be  followed  in  all  these  matters, 
and  haphazard  buying  can  but  work  evil  and  result  in  dis- 
appointment. Decide  what  size  and  kind  of  vehicles  you 
mean  to  keep  and  then  horse  and  harness  yourself  accord- 
ingly. Your  heavy  brougham  harness  will  not  do  for  a 
runabout  or  other  light  vehicle,  yet  may  do  very  well  for  a 
gig,  etc.;  your  road-wagon  harness  may  pull  your  station 
wagon,  but  will  never  harmonise  with  its  more  massive  lines ; 
it  costs  no  more  to  begin  right,  and  it  is  due  yourself  and 
your  family  to  do  so.  Personally,  you  may  not  care  whether 
silver  or  brass  is  used,  horseshoe  buckles  or  square,  but  you 
will,    perhaps   unconsciously,    compare   your   equipage   with 

202 


THE    HARNESS    AND    ITS    CARE 

others,  recognise  its  shortcomings,  become  dissatisfied  or 
ashamed,  and  have  the  expense  of  beginning  all  over  again. 
You  despise  yourself,  perhaps,  on  noticing  that  Mr.  Dives's 
clothes  cost  at  least  $65,  are  perfect  in  fit  and  cut,  and  make 
your  own  "hand-me-downs"  look  like  a  transfer  slip  by 
comparison,  but  you  forthwith  begin  to  reckon  ways  and 
means  to  see  if  somehow  you  cannot  afford  to  patronise 
Dives's  tailor. 

Go  then  to  a  first-class  harness-maker  and  pay  him  his 
price  for  what  you  select,  eschewing  all  fancy  scroll-work  or 
too  much  plating.  Have  a  modest  monogram  or  letter 
placed  upon  the  blinkers  only  (or  on  the  face-piece,  saddle- 
skirts,  etc.,  if  you  prefer);  forswear  crests  and  badges 
of  all  sorts — you  are  honestly  entitled  to  your  letter  or  mono- 
gram, but  whether  you  are  to  the  other  emblems  goodness 
only  knows;  in  this  democratic  country  probably  not — and 
be  proud  of  it.  Black,  of  course,  the  harness  will  be;  brass 
mxOunted  is  the  cheaper  and  more  general,  but  silver  is  more 
desirable  for  that  reason,  and  also  because  your  man  can 
much  more  easily  keep  it  clean  and  fresh  looking.  Brown 
harness  you  should  never  buy — firstly,  because  it  is  not 
"dress"  at  all;  secondly,  because  you  would  get  ghastly 
sick  of  it  if  you  did;  thirdly,  because,  being  conspicuous,  it 
is  not  only  in  bad  taste  but  draws  special  attention  to  your 
outfit  and  its  deficiencies.  It  should  be  double-lined,  of  course ; 
black- stitched ;  and  the  keepers  (or  harness  loops)  always  of 
leather,  and  single;  never  box  and  of  metal.  (This  does  not 
apply  to  harness  for  road- wagon  and  light-buggy  use,  which 
generally  has  box  loops,  as  do  most  harnesses  for  American 
vehicles.) 

Briefly  describing  the  most  desirable  construction  of  the 
different  parts  of  the  harness,  it  may  be  said  that,  as  to  the 

203 


DRIVING 

bridle,  the  blinkers  should  be  square,  or  slightly  rounded 
on  the  corners,  and  never  round  or  horseshoe-shaped,  as  being 
not  dressy  and  most  unbecoming,  as  well  as  too  commonly 
used  on  wagons  and  hacks;  bridle-fronts  of  chain  or  square- 
band  pattern,  coloured  leather  being  rather  "  sporty, "  and 
cloth  being  used  only  for  the  most  elegant  lady's  vehicle 
when  the  full  panoply  is  desired;  buckles  always  square  or 
slightly  rounded  on  the  edge,  although  all  harness  for  sporting 
uses,  as  the  runabout,  road-coach,  etc.,  may  have  the  horse- 
shoe buckle,  and  the  light  road-wagon  harness  generally  has 
the  same;  the  face-piece  is  always  worn — in  heavy  harness, 
the  gag-check,  generally  with  pulley — these  being  removed  if 
the  check  is  not  used;  the  nose-band  should  always  have 
plenty  of  holes,  that  it  may  be  taken  up  snugly  if  required, 
and  constitute  a  useful  portion  of  the  appointments  in  assist- 
ing the  bitting  instead  of  being  merely  an  ornament  as 
generally  constructed.  The  collar  is  sometimes  shaped, 
but,  if  not,  is  made  straight  for  general  purposes,  and 
shaped  (in  a  curve  at  top)  in  all  outfits  for  ladies'  or 
park  work;  the  straight  fits  ordinary  shoulders  the  best, 
and  sets  much  closer:  these  are  always  patent  leather,  faced 
with  black,  except  as  to  those  for  sporting  use,  which  may 
be  faced  with  tan  leather — the  saddle  linings  corresponding 
if  this  is  the  case;  breast-collars  are  increasing  in  vogue,  and 
while  they  may  now  be  seen  in  gigs  and  even  victorias,  and 
have  the  advantage  of  bestowing  a  false  appearance  of  length 
upon  a  short  and  thick  neck,  they  are  not  in  keeping  at  all, 
and  distinctly  undress.  The  hames  are  confined  at  bottom 
by  a  chain  in  single  harness;  by  open  or  jointed  kidney-links 
in  double  harness,  the  closed  link  being  the  fad  of  the  moment, 
but  either  being  really  proper.  The  breast-plate  should  go, 
for  safety  sake,  round  the  collar  and  kidney-link,  although 

204 


THE   HARNESS   AND   ITS   CARE 

fickle  fashion  just  now  decrees  that  in  appointment  classes  it 
must  be  fastened  only  round  the  ring  on  the  inner  segment 
of  the  kidney-link;  these  appurtenances  should  be  taken  up 
short  enough  to  be  really  useful  in  backing  and  holding  back. 
The  hames-tugs  attach  to  the  harness  by  finger-draught  in 
park  equipage,  ring-draught  in  sporting.  Much  argument 
has  been  wasted  over  the  absolutely  immaterial  question  as  to 
whether  the  clips  and  rivets  should  be  exposed  or  covered. 
If  exposed,  they  should  be  plated  to  match  the  harness. 

The  pad  should  be  straight-flapped,  and  if  for  two- wheel 
work  the  back-strap  should  work  freely  through  the  saddle- 
tree; French  or  English  tugs  are  used,  according  to  work — 
the  latter  nowadays  principally  on  hansom  harness  only,  so 
generally  is  the  breeching  done  away  with;  double  harness 
pads  are  narrower  and  longer  than  the  single.  Housings  of 
all  kinds  are  appropriate,  combined  with  brow-bands,  rosettes, 
loin-straps,  etc.,  on  all  harness  for  a  lady's  use,  and  either  to 
be  driven  by  herself  or  by  a  servant,  as  being  full  dress  and 
more  in  harmony  with  the  general  intention  and  appearance 
of  the  vehicle.  They  should,  however,  all  go  together,  and 
not  be  used  piecemeal,  and  always  with  pulley  bridoon  checks. 

We  have  adopted  the  fashion  of  doing  away  with  breech- 
ings  upon  many  light  vehicles,  and  have  carried  the  fad  to  a 
dangerous  extent,  in  some  cases  going  so  far  as  to  omit  it 
even  for  victoria  and  brougham  work.  For  the  runabout, 
the  gig  and  other  light  vehicles  such  omission  can  work  no 
particular  harm,  but  surely  the  danger  line  is  passed  if  we 
go  further.  Even  the  most  docile  animal  will  kick  if  his 
back-strap  be  too  tight,  causing  the  crupper  to  draw  painfully 
under  the  tail,  and  the  stops  on  the  shafts  which  serve  as  hold- 
backs for  the  tugs  are  by  no  means  unbreakable.  It  is  true 
that  some  horses  object  to  the  feel  of  the  breeching,  and  will 

205 


DRIVING 

kick  if  one  is  worn,  but  this  is  only  a  matter  of  making  the 
animal  accustomed  to  the  pressure.  The  crupper  itself  is  not 
infrequently  too  slight,  and  painfully  cuts  and  presses  the 
dock  or  has  sharp  edges  which  cause  annoyance.  Cruppers, 
in  the  days  of  long  tails,  buckled  upon  both  sides,  but 
nowadays  are  usually  made  in  one  piece.  The  breeching 
when  used  should  be  adjusted  at  just  the  proper  length  of 
hip-straps,  and  the  ends  of  these  should  tuck  snugly  into  the 
billets  provided,  and  not  project  as  an  annoying  obstacle  upon 
which  the  reins  regularly  catch.  Light  road-harnesses  are 
best  made  with  the  buckles  set  high  near  the  back-band,  that 
this  objection  may  be  removed.  Trace-bearers  in  double 
harness  should  be  just  the  right  length,  not  dangling  loosely 
about,  riding  Hp,  nor  strained  by  the  traces. 

The  pad  should  fit  exactly  and  be  placed  just  back  of 
the  swell  of  the  shoulders,  where  the  muscles  cease  to  bulge. 
The  girth  and  bellyband  should  be  soft  and  pliable,  and  the 
latter  should  work  in  loops  upon  the  former's  broad  surface, 
thus  preventing  any  danger  of  pinching  or  chafing.  The 
trace-girths  in  double  harness  should  be  rather  loose,  and  the 
tugs  on  the  pad  adjusted  at  just  the  proper  length,  the  traces 
arranged  so  that  they  hang  straight  and  in  place. 

The  reins  should  be  kept  soft  and  be  rather  narrow  and 
thin,  that  looping,  etc.,  may  be  easy,  and  that  the  small 
hands  of  ladies  and  children  may  comfortably  grasp  them. 
Plenty  of  holes  should  be  made  for  changing  couplings,  and 
the  buckles  at  the  bit  end  provided  with  long  billets  with 
several  holes,  that  additional  changes  may  be  made  there  if 
necessary. 

Great  advantages  accrue  from  having  all  the  harness 
made  upon  the  same  general  lines.  Thus  with  a  set  of  victoria 
or  phaeton  harness  and  a  gig  harness  one  may  drive  tandem 

206 


THE  HARNESS  AND   ITS   CARE 

if  long  reins,  traces  and  tandem  terrets  are  kept;  or  a  set 
of  phaeton  and  one  victoria  harness  may,  with  the  same 
extras,  make  a  four-in-hand  outfit.  Every  horse  may  have 
his  own  bridle  and  collar — should  have  the  last,  an3rway — 
and  with  them  may  take  his  place  before  any  vehicle,  single 
or  double,  at  need. 

Intelligent  attention  and  a  little  watchfulness  of  weather 
conditions  will  make  all  the  difference  in  the  life  of  even  the 
most  expensive  harness.  Proper  cleaning,  blacking  and  oiling 
are  required,  and  under  the  buckles  is  the  place  most  generally 
neglected.  A  stitch  in  time  will  do  wonders  to  hold  things 
together,  and  patent  leather  and  metal  furniture  need  daily 
careful  polishing. 


207 


CHAPTER  XXII 

SHOW-RING     HORSES 

Show-ring  competition  may  perhaps  not  be  classed  with 
those  contests  which  "  try  men's  souls,"  but  it  certainly  tends 
to  develop  and  to  lay  bare  many  curious  kinks  in  human 
nature  and  remarkable  eccentricities  in  the  characters  of  those 
who  take  part  in  such  diversions.  The  "hard  loser"  and 
the  chronic  fault-finder  expand  to  mammoth  proportions 
about  the  ringside  as  they  do  nowhere  else;  and  the  man  of 
equable  temper,  who  never  by  word  or  deed  disparages  the 
performance  of  his  rivals  or  the  awards  of  the  officials,  is  a 
very  rare  specimen,  and  to  be  cherished,  when  found,  with  the 
utmost  solicitude.  Probably  no  more  expensive  sport,  except 
yachting,  finds  favour  among  us ;  for  the  possibility  of  financial 
gain  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  certainty  of  heavy  outlay 
for  equipment  and  for  travelling  expenses.  The  paltry  prizes 
offered  by  even  the  most  pretentious  exhibitions  are  hardly 
worth  mentioning,  and  far  less  valuable  than  they  should 
be,  bearing  in  mind  the  huge  revenues  and  the  enormous 
dividends  paid  by  most  of  the  shows.  Exhibitors  have  no 
one  but  themselves  to  blame,  however,  that  they  are  thus 
tossed  the  crumbs  from  the  basket,  and  are  most  short- 
sighted that  they  do  not  demand  larger  purses,  free  transpor- 
tation and  free  stabling  and  feed  from  every  exhibition.  An 
organization  of  exhibitors  and  a  separate  organization  of 
horse-shows  would  greatly  benefit  themselves  and  each  other, 
as  the  former  could,  in  return  for  certain  concessions,  guar- 
antee for  each  show  a  stated  number  of  entries  by  caucus  of 

209 


DRIVING 

members ;  while  the  latter  could  thus  not  only  give  its  separate 
affairs  ample  guarantee  of  support,  but  could  also  adjudicate  at 
leisure  upon  the  various  abuses  which  are  finding  their  places 
in  the  arena — could  effectively  discipline  recalcitrants,  pre- 
vent ringing,  prohibit  the  use  of  the  cocaine  needle  and  other 
"doping"  tricks  which  are  far  too  common,  arrange  horse- 
show  dates  in  certain  sequence  advantageous  to  all  interests, 
settle  this  tiresome  appointment  business,  and  exercise 
generally  a  wise  and  most  necessary  control  over  all  branches 
of  the  sport. 

The  judge  and  the  exhibitor  engage  in  the  arena  in  a 
contest  of  intelligence  in  which  the  latter  makes  every  effort 
not  only  to  impress  the  former  with  the  merits  of  his  exhibit 
but  also  to  deceive  him  as  to  its  shortcomings.  To  this  extent 
amateurs  adopt  at  times  methods  which  savour  too  much  of 
the  tricky  professional,  and  stoop  to  acts  which  they  would 
resent  upon  the  part  of  others  in  the  same  competition. 
Justice  to  our  horse  demands  that  he  be  properly  apparelled 
and  competently  shown,  but  there  the  matter  should  end,  and 
any  schemes  a  "little  out  of  line"  sternly  discountenanced. 
Showing  horses,  if  not  conducted  in  a  fair,  square,  open  and 
aboveboard  fashion,  is  unworthy  of  patronage,  and  if  the  taint 
of  shady  deeds  is  once  noticeable  it  will,  as  have  so  many 
other  sports  thus  befouled  in  America,  drop  entirely  from 
public  favour  into  the  oblivion  it  will  well  deserve. 

If  we  would  successfully  pass  the  judicial  inspection 
and  appraisal,  we  must  first  find  the  raw  material  likely  to 
develop  into  the  phenomenon,  or  acquire  the  finished  article 
at  heavy  outlay;  we  must  equip,  balance  show  and  "place" 
him  properly  where  he  can  win,  and  not  shoot  too  high  for 
the  caliber  of  our  gun;  we  must  display  him  to  the  best 
advantage,  either   in  person  or  by  engaging  the  services  of 

210 


p 
< 


< 


SHOW-RING   HORSES 

some  competent  amateur  or  professional.  Ability  in  the 
last  respect  is  by  no  means  a  usual  personal  attribute,  as  the 
large  number  who  fail  at  the  undertaking  proves;  but  surely 
he  of  the  genuine  sporting  spirit  will  prefer  the  excitement 
and  pleasure  of  personal  competition,  even  if  success  does  not 
always  come  to  him,  rather  than  to  occupy  merely  the  posi- 
tion of  an  "  angel "  who  finances  an  exhibition  in  which  he  is 
not  competent  to  be  an  actor.  It  is  this  tiresome  subordina- 
tion to  others  as  much  as  disgust  at  defeat  which  leads  many 
a  would  be  showman  to  quit  the  arena  and  to  further  aug- 
ment the  band  of  fault-finders,  thenceforth  deriving  a 
mournful  pleasure  from  reciting  the  "hard-luck  stories" 
of  his  own  personal  experience  and  from  listening  to  those 
of  others. 

Promising  raw  material  is  nowadays,  if  at  all  noteworthy, 
usually  trotting-bred,  or  of  more  or  less  direct  trotting 
descent;  and  the  difficulties  encoimtered  in  changing  the 
balance  and  increasing  the  extravagance  of  the  action  are 
simplified  by  this  fact,  as  methods  nearly  identical  are 
appropriate  to  every  case.  His  balance,  his  poise  when 
moving  and  his  pose  when  standing  have  all  to  do  with  his 
merits  as  a  good  "prospect"  for  ring  honours,  and  need  as 
much  care  as  his  proper  bitting.  Gradually  he  must  come  to 
face  the  curb  steadily,  to  endure  severe  checking  cheerfully,  not 
only  in  motion,  but  when  standing  still.  Physic  in  two  mild 
doses  will  have  cleansed  the  inward  horse ;  steady  walking  and 
jogging  will  develop  and  harden  the  muscles  of  the  outer; 
while,  once  he  approaches  condition,  his  harness  work  will 
be  of  the  most  brief  description — a  few  minutes  every  other 
day,  perhaps,  when  every  effort  is  directed  to  make  him 
display  and  "parade"  himself,  his  exercise  otherwise  con- 
sisting of  a  daily  walk  "  in  hand,"  the  idea  being  to  keep  him 

211 


DRIVING 

superlatively  fresh  and  "  above  himself, "  that,  when  shown 
in  the  ring,  he  may  through  sheer  exuberance  go  to  extremes 
in  his  action  during  the  brief  period  when  he  is  undergoing 
inspection  by  the  judges,  and  may  thus  ultimately  acquire  as 
a  habit  the  senselessly  high  action  which  show-ring  require- 
ments nowadays  demand — action  so  absurdly  exaggerated 
in  many  cases  that  it  ceases  to  be  graceful  or  useful,  but 
degenerates  into  a  mere  temporary  hysterical  contortion. 

Shoeing,  the  weight  of  the  shoes  and  the  appropriate 
length  of  the  toes  have  much  to  do  with  developing  high 
action.  Just  now,  because  some  horse  chanced  to  go  high 
that  wore  a  long  toe  to  keep  him  from  pacing  and  mixing  his 
gaits  as  some  trotting-bred  horses  will,  it  is  the  fad  to  wear 
the  front  toes  abnormally  and  most  harmfully  long,  and  not 
a  few  horses  have  been  crippled  by  the  practice.  Nothing 
but  experiments  will  demonstrate  what  will  suit  the  particular 
case,  although,  as  mentioned,  the  fact  that  most  horses  are 
trotting-bred  reduces  the  variety  of  action  which  we  must 
correct.  All  the  weight  in  the  heel,  or  in  the  toe ;  long,  short 
or  medium  toes;  side  weighting  to  straighten  imperfect 
action;  some  needing  to  "break  over"  quickly  in  front, 
others  to  be  extended  more  in  their  stride,  etc. ;  his  needs 
in  respect  to  his  shoes  gradually  unfold  as  his  balance  and 
his  poise  changes ;  but  one  thing  is  certain — that  our  native- 
bred  horse  is  so  wonderfully  adaptable  that,  however  much 
weight  (often  very  great)  he  may  need  to  square  him  and 
to  force  his  action,  this  may  be  steadily  reduced  as  he  gains 
experience,  until  he  finally  carries  a  moderate- weight  shoe. 
This  result  can  be  reached  by  weighing  his  shoes  when  he  is 
reshod  and  making  the  new  set  weigh  just  the  amount  to 
which  attrition  has  reduced  the  old,  always  assuming  that 
the  high  action  has,  in  the  old  shoes,  been  retained.     The 

212 


SHOW-RING   HORSES 

lighter  these  can  be  made  of  course  the  better,  and  the  animals, 
if  to  show  at  their  best,  should,  when  developed,  be  left  bare- 
foot between  exhibitions,  that  the  special  shoes  which 
develop  the  high  action  may  have  their  effect  when  reset  just 
before  going  to  the  next  reunion. 

Knee-action  may  be  improved  in  all  cases,  in  some 
instances  to  wonderful  extent.  Hock-action  remains  about 
at  the  normal,  unless  the  subject  has  a  faculty  of  naturally 
bending  his  hocks  and  "  going  off  "  them,  as  the  dealers  say. 
This  natural  tendency  will  greatly  improve  if  given  the 
chance,  and  the  changed  poise,  even  if  the  knee-action  be  in 
such  cases  none  too  high,  will  tend  to  develop  the  motion  in 
front,  from  the  fact  that  the  hocks  thus  sent  well  under 
the  body  help  to  lighten  the  forehand,  and  to  add  much 
springiness  to  the  action;  while  the  animal  who  does  not 
naturally  and  easily  flex  his  hocks  never  carries  himself  as 
he  might,  nor  gets  them  helpfully  under  him.  Despite 
everything,  however,  if  we  go  to  the  cruel  lengths  now  notice- 
able in  "gag-checking"  our  horses,  they  can  never  be  at 
ease  or  go  freely.  The  "squatty-going"  horses  we  see  so 
often  in  the  ring  are  forced  to  move  thus  by  the  trem.endous 
stress  which  the  severe  check  puts  upon  their  backs  and  loins. 

Many  a  horse  is  considered  to  move  his  hocks  well  when 
the  action  comes  all  from  the  stifles,  a  noted  peculiarity  in 
the  trotting-bred  horse's  gait  being  excessive  stifle  action. 
The  really  fast  horse  is  sure  to  show  this  peculiarity,  just  as 
he  is  to  more  easily  go  high  at  speed  than  at  a  slower  rate. 
Possessed  of  this  ability  to  go  fast,  and  restrained  from 
rapid  progress  by  sharp  bitting,  we  find  frequently  an  ex- 
traordinarily brilliant  development  of  action  will  follow,  for 
if  he  cannot  go  on,  he  must,  like  water  restrained,  go  up,  and 
aided,  as  in  no  other  horse,  by  the  play  of  shoulders,  stifles, 

213 


DRIVING 

hocks  and  knees,  the  result  is  brilUant  in  the  extreme.  The 
animal  of  no  natural  speed  may  go  high,  but  it  will  probably 
be  with  knees  only;  nor  is  this  action  likely  to  endure  sensa- 
tionally, because  the  animal,  being  at  the  top  of  his  pace, 
quickly  tires  and  goes  to  pieces,  not  only  because  he  is  low- 
bred, but  because  the  exertion  is,  for  him,  too  violent  to  be 
long  endured. 

Lunging  horses  over  deep  straw  beds,  through  snow  or 
water  knee-deep  or  less,  over  rails  laid  at  certain  distances 
apart  on  the  ground,  using  "elastic  action"  controllers  to 
knees  and  hocks  when  in  harness,  assisted  by  proper  balancing, 
will  temporarily  help  action,  if  the  horse  is  allowed  to  trot 
only  under  such  circumstances  and  walked  at  all  other  times. 
The  improvement,  however,  is  rarely  worth  the  trouble,  and 
affects  chiefly  animals  of  low  breeding,  naturally  dull  in  intelli- 
gence, who  are  too  dense  to  realise  that,  once  the  obstacles 
are  removed,  they  need  not  continue  to  elevate  the  feet. 
Running  the  horse  on  hand,  and  keeping  after  him  with  a 
whip,  will  make  him  lighter  in  poise  and  tend  to  increase  his 
action,  and  dumb  jockeying  will  do  some  good  in  certain 
cases;  but  when  all  is  said  and  done,  a  good  pair  of  hands  and 
ordinary  intelligence  and  observation  beats  all  the  bitting- 
rigging  ever  heard  of,  and,  as  no  other  factor  in  the  job  can 
do,  cultivates  the  action  that,  once  acquired,  "stays  put." 

Never  neglect  your  horse's  caparison  and  equipment 
when  you  have  got  him  fit  and  ready  and  are  about  to  show 
for  the  money.  This  is  the  finishing  touch,  and  if  you  do  not 
display  your  goods  to  the  best  advantage  you  have  no  one 
to  blame  but  yourself  for  neglecting  your  own  affairs.  Your 
harness  must  fit  in  every  point,  not  "  pretty  well,"  but  exactly: 
from  bit  to  crupper,  from  bellyband  to  brow-band,  that  the 
horse  may  be  exactly  comfortable  in  every  point.     Beware 

214 


SHOW-RING    HORSES 

of  narrow  brow-bands,  bit  wrongly  placed,  girths  pain- 
fully tight,  checks  that  are  too  short,  back-straps  too  short; 
and  that  the  animal  is  suppled  as  to  his  neck  muscles,  so  that 
he  can  bend  himself  easily  free  from  discomfort.  Mane,  tail 
and  fetlocks  should  all  be  in  order,  vehicle  fresh  and  clean, 
and  everything  neat  and  smart,  plain  and  appropriate. 

Never  delay  when  the  class  is  called,  but  get  ready  as 
soon  as  called,  and  promptly  enter  the  ring  when  the  bugle 
blows.  Leave  a  late  entrance,  which  savours  of  cheap  adver- 
tising, to  the  flash  performer  and  the  notoriety  seeker. 

Never  be  led  by  the  performances  of  others  to  go 
dashing  about  a  show-ring  as  if  driving  in  a  race,  and  thus 
reducing  the  exhibition  to  the  level  of  a  farce  by  displaying 
a  pace  as  undignified  as  it  is  uncalled  for  in  heavy-harness 
work,  and  which  at  the  open-air  shows  especially  is  so  general 
that  the  whole  idea  of  the  competition  is  destroyed.  A  calm 
and  collected  show  is  what  the  judges  want;  when  they 
desire  speed  they  will  ask  for  it,  and  you  are  only  uselessly 
exhausting  your  horse  to  push  him  now.  If  you  have  any 
chance  at  all  it  will  not  be  sacrificed  by  moderation  in 
this  respect.  You  may  ptill  your  horse  together  just  once, 
if  the  judges  are  looking,  and  parade  down  one  side  of  the 
ring,  but  that  is  enough. 

Come  in  at  once  when  called,  and  do  not  keep  the  ring- 
master chasing  you  about  while  you  are  trying  to  be  cunning 
and  to  avail  yourself  of  the  thinning  field  to  make  a  sensational 
show.  The  judges  may  not  be  looking,  and  you  only  fool 
yourself  by  these  would-be  clever  exploits.  When  you  reach 
your  place,  it  does  no  harm  to  go  a  length  or  two  beyond 
the  line  if  your  horse  is  well  trained,  and  then  to  back  into 
place;  it  proves  manners  at  once. 

No  unchecking  should  be  allowed  in  the  ring,   and  if 

«»5 


DRIVING 

horses  will  not  stand  quietly  checked  they  should  be  sent  out. 
The  practice  is  carried  to  cruel  lengths,  and  horses  are  shown 
as  they  are  supposed  to  work  for  hours  if  necessary.  Nothing 
is  more  unfair  than  to  free  the  heads  if  half -broken,  and 
to  minimize  any  advantage  accruing  to  the  docile  and  the 
humanely  treated.  Have  your  charge  stand  up  and  show 
himself  when  the  judges  come,  and  when  told  to  back  be  sure 
that  he  is  on  his  feet  and  so  placed  that  he  can  comply — nor 
go  one  step  farther  than  the  judges  require,  for  your  horse 
may  turn  restive  at  that  moment;  so  let  well  enough  alone. 
Give  them  the  best  you  and  your  celebrity  can  contrive 
at  all  times,  and,  as  part  of  a  show  for  which  the  public  pays 
to  enter,  realise  your  subordinate  part,  and  that  you  are  on 
a  par  with  any  other  performer. 

Now  comes  the  second  and  probably  the  final  parade, 
so  make  up  your  mind  to  get  the  best  your  animal  has  and 
display  it  to  the  utmost  advantage.  Give  him  all  the  benefit 
to  be  gained  by  going  into  the  comers,  thus  getting  every 
inch  of  length  for  straight  going  that  you  can ;  if  your  charge 
gets  cunning  and  hangs  toward  the  center  (driving  on  one 
rein),  of  course  you  cannot  do  this  as  completely  as  you 
would  like.  Particularly  should  you  follow  this  course  if 
speed  is  asked  for  and  your  horse  is  slower  than  others. 
You  must  inevitably  lose  ground,  but  if  you  do  so  by  this 
means  the  officials  cannot  tell  just  how  much  you  lack  in  this 
respect,  because  you  are  going  the  longest  way  round  the 
arena.  Regulate  your  pace,  if  you  can,  to  what  suits  your 
horse,  and  at  any  rate  keep  him  going  square  and  level  at  all 
times,  both  for  present  and  for  future  effect. 

If  he  has  a  one-sided  mouth,  or  goes  better  one  way  than 
the  other,  try  and  lead  off  when  ordered,  that  you  may  turn 
him  his  favourite  way,  and,  if  you  think  you  can  challenge 

216 


SHOW-RING   HORSES 

comparison,  get  in  front  or  behind  your  most  dangerous 
competitor  and  try  to  wear  him  down,  cutting  comers  if  he 
does  (a  Httle  more  than  he  does,  to  save  distance),  and 
generally  availing  yourself  of  every  fair  advantage  possible, 
but  never  crowding,  cutting  off  nor  interfering  with  anybody,  . 
and  always  giving  way  if  a  dispute  arises  (the  arena  is  no 
place  for  wrangling  or  for  quarrels  of  any  kind ;  leave  all  that 
to  the  professional  and  semi-amateur).  When  driving  a 
pair  or  four,  be  specially  careful,  if  you  can,  always  to  keep 
the  best  specimens  next  the  judges. 

Always  keep  a  wary  eye  ahead  and  a  listening  ear  behind, 
being  prepared  for  a  dead  stop,  a  quick  turn,  or  a  smash; 
and  notify  others  of  your  intentions,  by  the  proper  whip 
signals,  when  making  sharp  turns  or  pulling  up. 

Horses  are  doctored  in  the  show-rings  to-day,  as  never 
before,  for  all  sorts  of  troubles  in  physique  and  temper,  and 
the  practices  known  to  the  "gyp  dealer"  are  not  neglected 
by  people  who  should  be  above  such  things.  Simimary 
pimishment  should  be  meted  out  to  all  offenders.  The 
man  who  dopes  a  wind-broken  horse,  doctors  ankles,  etc.,  for 
lameness  or  to  produce  action,  and  arranges  all  sorts  of 
bitting  contrivances  for  deceiving  the  judges,  is  a  cheap 
swindler,  and  for  such  cheating  should  be  thrown  out  of  all 
reputable  shows. 

Horses  do  better  if  stabled  away  from  the  show  building, 
on  grounds  where  they  can  be  quiet,  and,  unless  one  is  a 
dealer,  there  is  no  object  in  having  them  at  the  show  at  all; 
while  the  vehicles,  etc.,  can  be  better  cared  for  at  livery  than 
amid  the  dusty  and  dirty  surroundings  of  the  average  exhi- 
bition, and  one's  smaller  valuables  are  safer  away  from  the 
crowd  that  always  hangs  about  such  structures  or  premises. 

Travel  by  express  is  rather  more  expensive  but  far  more 

217 


DRIVING 

satisfactory  than  by  freight.  We  might  to  advantage 
journey  more  by  road  than  we  do;  and  show  horses,  led  or 
driven  slowly,  can  walk  fifty  miles  or  so  in  two  or  three 
days  and  be  all  the  better  for  it,  as  well  as  free  from  all  dangers 
incurred  by  car-travel.  If  they  travel  by  cars  or  boat,  they 
need  protection  upon  the  crown  of  the  head  by  placing  a 
thick  pad  there,  and  the  tail  should  be  bandaged,  but  there 
seems  no  reason  for  the  ostentatious  wrapping  of  the  legs  in 
cotton  batting,  and  bandages.  You  are  responsible  for  the 
acts,  appearance  and  manner  of  your  servants,  and  should 
take  care  that  they  offend  neither  by  action  nor  word  the 
management,  other  exhibitors,  or  the  public. 

It  is  always  gratifying  to  the  public  and  to  all  good 
sportsmen  to  see  the  owner  and  the  amateur  taking  an  active 
part  in  the  performances  in  the  arena ;  nor  should  the  tyro  be 
discouraged  by  failure,  or  by  the  fact  that  at  first  he  may 
be  outgeneralled  by  other  drivers,  but  remember  that  as  he 
is  now,  so  once  were  they,  professional  or  not;  that  actual 
practice  will  bring  proficiency  and  do  away  with  the  excite- 
ment and  self -consciousness  which  make  him,  both  before  and 
after  his  entrance,  so  nervously  anxious;  while  he  should  be 
above  noticing  the  ridicule  which  possibly  his  first  essays 
may  provoke  from  the  envious  and  the  captious. 

Not  only  is  the  new  beginner  frequently  "  rattled  "  him- 
self, but  the  moment  he  takes  up  the  reins  his  steed  is  likely 
to  be  upset  as  well,  for  the  "wireless  telegraph"  to  which 
all  horses  are  so  sensitive  is  forthwith  at  work,  and  the 
creature  is  disconcerted  and  upset  before  the  time  for 
action  arrives. 

Because  professionals  "nag"  their  horses,  and  shake 
them  up  by  hand  and  bit  manipulation,  it  does  not  follow 
either  that  horses  act  better  for  it  or  that  the  amateur  should 

218 


SHOW-RING    HORSES 

attempt  it.  Notoriously,  the  animals  go  better  for  a  woman 
who  lets  them,  in  a  way,  drive  themselves,  than  they  do  for 
most  men,  and  the  efforts  of  the  novice  to  imitate  more 
experienced  reinsmen  usually  result  in  hopelessly  confusing 
the  horse.  No  animal  fit  to  rank  as  a  heavy-harness  horse 
needs  this  mauling  about,  nor  should  it  be  allowed  in  the 
arena,  where  the  judges  are  trying  to  find  out  what  a  horse 
does  naturally,  and  not  what  he  can  be  tormented  and 
tortured  into  doing. 

Anybody  can  win  gracefully,  but  good  losers  are  scarce, 
and  the  transcendent  virtue  of  smilingly  accepting  defeat  is  a 
rare  accomplishment  indeed,  and  one  demanding  much 
fortitude  of  nature.  Thus  prepared,  one's  occasional  successes 
prove  all  the  more  sweet.  No  sport  has  developed  more 
"hard  losers"  and  chronic  "kickers"  than  the  enormously 
expensive  enterprise  of  horse-showing. 

Finally,  as  an  amateur,  you  should  realise  that  it  is  to 
you  and  your  fellows  that  the  shows  must  look  for  support 
and  advance  if  they  are  to  endure  in  public  favour;  to  your 
presence  and  active  participation  that  it  turns  to  hold  in 
abeyance  that  ever-present  danger  which  threatens  all  such 
organisations — the  preponderance  of  the  professional  and 
quasi-amateur  element  which  has  proved  an  imsurmountable 
handicap  to  the  manv  other  sports. 


2x9 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

AMERICAN    ROAD-COACHING 

It  IS  curious  that  clubs  for  the  promotion  of  four-in-hand 
driving  have  not  been  more  frequently  organised  in  America, 
where  so  many  essentials  to  the  sport  are  economically  to 
be  had,  and  where  the  roads  are  so  generally  good,  the  scenery 
so  picturesque,  and  where  points  of  interest  are  to  be  found 
adjacent  to  every  city. 

Perhaps  it  is  harsh  to  say  so,  but  it  would  appear  that  the 
only  element  lacking  has  been  a  liberal  sporting  spirit.  The 
organisations  at  New  York  and  Philadelphia  are  the  only 
ones  which  have  ever  made  any  attempts  at  parades,  etc., 
and  they  are  to-day,  while  extant,  neither  especially  lively 
nor  very  generally  in  evidence,  save  that  the  coach  "  Pioneer,  " 
which  is  running  each  spring  from  the  Holland  House,  New 
York,  to  the  Ardsley  Casino,  is  promoted  and  backed  by  a 
few  members  of  The  Coaching  Club  (New  York),  and  that 
the  annual  parades  prove  in  each  city  attractive  spectacles. 

There  was  another  club  originated  for  the  purpose  of 
promoting  road-coaching  and  open  for  membership  only  to 
men  who  had  driven  a  public  coach,  which  went  so  far  as  to 
incorporate,  to  elect  officers,  and  to  originate  a  very  neat 
scarfpin,  specimens  of  which  are  still  in  evidence.  This  body, 
the  Four-in-Hand  Club,  was  composed  of  some  men  already 
members  of  the  Coaching  Club  and  some  others  who  were 
not,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  it  never  actively  began  life.  Another 
body,  the  American  Coaching  Club,  is  also  in  existence,  but  has 
hitherto  made  no  sign  beyond  donating  a  prize  for  four-in- 

221 


DRIVING 

hand  competition  at  a  few  shows.  So  far  as  known,  these 
are  the  only  coaching  clubs  ever  organised  in  this  country. 

The  Coaching  Club  of  New  York  has  done  much  for  the 
sport,  not  only  of  private  but  of  public  four-in-hand  driving, 
and  its  manual  of  correct  appointments  is  universally 
recognised  as  standard  throughout  the  country.  Comprising 
in  its  list  of  members  gentlemen  as  prominent  socially  and 
in  the  business  world  as  they  are  in  the  realms  of  sport,  its 
exclusive  character  has  perhaps  been  rather  a  drawback  to 
the  liberal  advance  of  interest  in  the  amusement,  because 
so  many  of  its  members  are  not  actively  in  touch  with  its 
undertakings,  and  a  number  of  gentlemen  who  are  con- 
spicuously interested  are  not  members;  nor  does  the  yoimger 
element,  either  inside  or  outside  the  elect,  follow  up  the  sport 
with  much  vigour.  So  lamentably  has  this  been  the  case 
of  late  years  that  it  is  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  the 
annual  parade  in  New  York  has  been  held  at  all,  while  that 
at  Newport  has  virtually  been  abandoned. 

That  this  should  be  the  case  has  been  a  great  handicap 
to  the  public  interest  in  coaching,  and  all  those  who  wish 
for  the  constant  fostering  of  the  sport  deplore  the  lack  of 
energy  manifested  by  the  gentlemen  who  might,  if  they 
would,  do  so  much  to  keep  the  game  alive.  True,  the 
"  Pioneer "  inins  under  the  auspices  of  The  Coaching  Club, 
but  it  is  no  secret  that  it  is  thus  fostered  in  name  principally. 
Praiseworthy  as  this  is,  and  sporting  as  is  the  whole  affair, 
it  does  not  make  up  for  the  absence  in  the  park  and  on  the 
roads  of  those  capitally  turned-out  coaches  which  used  to 
be  in  daily  evidence.  The  witchery  inseparable  from  handling 
four  good  horses  is  but  little  appreciated  by  the  youth  of  the 
day,  who  seem  to  prefer  the  "  honk  "  of  the  hooting  automobile 
to  the  ringing  music  of  a  "yard  of  tin." 

222 


AMERICAN    ROAD-COACHING 

The  Coaching  Club  is  unUkely  to  find  imitators  from  the 
fact  that  its  very  appellation  precludes  the  likelihood  of 
such  rivalry.  "  The  "  Club  is  overpowering  in  this  respect, 
and  seizes  thereby  upon  a  situation  as  unique  as  it 
is  isolated.  Any  other  must  be  distinguished  by  some 
adjective,  and  suffer  therefrom  a  serious  loss  of  cachet  and 
of  reputation,  while,  of  course,  it  could  in  no  way  savour  of 
that  exclusiveness  which  possesses  an  irresistible  charm  for 
most  Americans.  Everything  else  it  could  do  most  accept- 
ably, and  could  furnish  a  far  more  noticeable  and  persistent 
object-lesson  than  the  senior  body,  which  is  really  preempt- 
ing in  a  way  a  field  it  will  not  work — starring  upon  a  stage 
from  which  other  performers  are  in  a  way  debarred. 

A  truly  democratic  coaching  parade  might  well  be  a 
most  interesting  feature  of  each  spring  in  New  York  and  all 
the  larger  cities — a  procession  to  which  every  description  of 
coach  and  brake  should  be  welcomed;  nor  is  it  likel}  that 
such  reunions  would  fail  of  ample  patronage,  not  onl}'  from 
owners,  but  from  the  public  as  well.  Especially  would  this  be 
a  success  if  The  Coaching  Club  itself  would  originate  the 
idea  and  push  matters  along.  We  should  see  turnouts  at 
Philadelphia,  Boston,  Newport,  Chicago,  and  other  large 
cities,  such  as  would  do  credit  to  the  sport  and  all  honour 
to  its  promoters,  while  attracting  public  attention  to  it  and 
encouraging  the  youth  of  the  country  financially  able  to 
actively  enter  into  it. 

To  Colonel  Delancey  A.  Kane  belongs  all  the  credit  for 
establishing  the  sport  of  public  coaching  in  America.  After 
driving  road-coaches  for  a  few  seasons  in  England,  and 
acquiring  a  reputation  there  as  one  of  the  most  ardent 
enthusiasts  and  best  performers  on  the  box,  Colonel  Kane, 
in  1875,  put  on  the  "Tally-ho"  (a  name  which  has  conferred 

223 


DRIVING 

a  similar  appellation  upon  all  sorts  of  vehicles  propelled  by 
four  horses  in  all  parts  of  this  country) ,  to  run  daily  between 
the  Brunswick  Hotel,  New  York,  and  the  Arcularius  Hotel, 
Pelham.  This  coach  loaded  well,  was  thoroughly  well  done 
throughout,  and  ran  about  three  months,  or  until  the  middle 
of  June.  The  imdertaking  was  again  entered  upon  by 
Colonel  Kane  in  1876,  and  again  was  found  most  popular. 

In  1877  Colonel  Kane  changed  his  route,  running  from 
the  Brunswick,  as  usual,  but  the  Castle  Inn  at  New  Rochelle 
formed  the  other  terminus  of  the  route.  The  time  of 
year  was  the  same,  and,  as  before,  the  coach  loaded  well. 

In  1878  Colonel  Kane  again  changed  his  line  and  ran 
from  the  Bnmswick,  New  York,  to  the  Getty  House,  in 
Yonkers,  the  "Tally-ho"  being  throughout  all  these  years 
the  coach  which  worked  the  road. 

Coaching  suffered  a  temporary  eclipse  during  the  next 
two  years,  as  Colonel  Kane  abandoned  further  active 
proceedings,  but  in  1881  Messrs.  Frederick  Bronson,  William 
Jay,  Isaac  Bell  and  Hugo  Fritsch  put  on  the  "Tantivy"  to 
run  between  the  Brunswick  Hotel,  New  York,  and  the 
Vincent  House,  Tarrytown.  This  coach,  horsed  with  State 
of  Maine  horses,  was  a  model — fast,  well  done,  smart,  and 
well  patronised. 

Again  the  sport  lapsed,  until,  in  1885,  Messrs,  C.  Oliver 
Iselin  and  J.  R.  Roosevelt  ran  the  "  Greyhound  "  between  the 
Brunswick  Hotel  and  the  Westchester  Country  Club. 

In  1886  the  "Tantivy"  was  again  put  on  the  road,  but 
this  time  to  the  Westchester  Country  Club.  Messrs.  Frederick 
Bronson,  Hugo  Fritsch  and  J.  R.  Roosevelt  being  its  sponsors, 
while  in  1890  the  same  coach,  Messrs.  Frederick  Bronson,  J.  R. 
Roosevelt  and  R.  W.  Rives  at  the  helm,  again  covered  daily 
the  roads  between  the  Brunswick  and  the  Country  Club. 

224 


Mo 
<^ 


AMERICAN    ROAD-COACHING 

In  1892  a  much  more  pretentious  undertaking  in  the 
way  of  pubUc  coaching  was  inaugurated  when  the  coach 
**RepubUc"  was  put  on  the  road  between  the  Plaza  Hotel, 
New  York,  and  The  Club,  Tuxedo,  running  up  one  day  and 
down  the  next.  This  route  was  horsed  and  driven  by 
Messrs.  R.  W.  Rives,  F.  O.  Beach  and  Pierre  Lorillard,  Jr., 
and  was  excellently  supported  and  capitally  managed  in 
every  way. 

Continuing  the  series,  the  "Tempest"  was  put  on  in 
1894  to  run  between  the  Brunswick  Hotel  and  the  Westchester 
Country  Club,  Messrs.  J.  Clinch  Smith  and  F.  T.  Underbill 
being  the  leading  spirits.  A  party  of  Philadelphians,  Messrs. 
Nelson  Brown,  E.  De  V.  Morrell,  E.  Browning  and  E.  Miller, 
ran  the  coaches  "Alert"  and  "Vivid"  alternately  between 
the  Bellevue,  Philadelphia,  and  the  Waldorf,  New  York. 
This  long  trip,  made  upon  alternate  days,  necessitated  the 
use  of  upward  of  one  hundred  horses,  and  the  coaches  kept 
their  time  surprisingly  well,  considering  the  sandy  nature 
of  many  of  the  roads  and  the  heat  of  the  weather. 

The  year  1895  saw  the  new  coach  "Pioneer"  on  the 
road  from  the  Brunswick  Hotel  to  the  Westchester  Country 
Club,  Colonel  Delancey  Kane  once  more  appearing  on 
the  box,  associated  with  Messrs.  Frederick  Bronson  and 
W.  Seward  Webb.  A  party  of  gentlemen,  including  Messrs. 
W.  S.  Catlin  and  G.  R.  Read,  also  put  on  the  "Enterprise" 
to  run  from  Rye  to  the  Plaza  Hotel,  New  York,  and  return 
daily;  the  same  coach  running  in  1896  and  1897,  under  the 
proprietorship  of  G.  R.  Read,  from  Rye  to  Rye  Lake,   etc. 

The  "Pioneer"  again  took  the  road,  in  1898,  from  the 
Holland  House,  New  York,  to  the  Ardsley  Club,  Frederick 
Bronson,  R.  W.  Rives  and  G.  R.  Read  alternating  on  the 
box;  and  the  same  coach,  managed  by  the  same  gentlemen 

225 


DRIVING 

for  The  Coaching  Club,  covered  the  same  route  in  the  years 
1899  and  1900. 

A.  G.  Vandervilt  and  R.  W.  Rives  drove  the  "Pioneer" 
in  1 90 1  over  its  accustomed  route  between  the  Holland 
House  and  Ardsley,  and  in  1902  A.  G.  Vanderbilt  had  charge 
of  the  same  vehicle  over  this  road. 

Boston  and  vicinity  were  not  without  their  undertakings 
in  the  road -coach  line,  for  in  1890  and  1891  E.  D.  Beylard 
and  friends  put  on  the  "  Constitution, "  to  run  between 
Boston  and  South  Sudbury;  while  in  1892  T.  Hitchcock,  Jr., 
W.  C.  Eustis  and  E.  D.  Beylard  ran  the  "Constitution" 
between  Pride's  Crossing,  Massachusetts,  and  Pigeon  Cove. 
Howard  Brown  put  on  the  "Cricket"  between  Boston  and 
South  Sudbury  in  1900,  and  again  ran  from  the  Hotel 
Touraine  to  the  Wayside  Inn  in  1901. 

The  "Essex"  was  put  in  commission  by  H.  P.  McKean, 
Max  Agassiz  and  H.  K.  Caner,  in  1902,  between  Pride's 
Crossing  and  Pigeon  Cove. 

At  Newport  the  "Aquidneck  "  was  put  on  by  H.  A.  Cary, 
W.  R.  Travers  and  F.  M.  Ware,  in  1892,  between  the  Casino 
and  Tiverton,  while  in  1893  F.  M.  Ware  and  F.  O.  Beach 
ran  the  "  Republic  "  between  the  Casino  and  the  Golf  Club. 

At  Stonington,  Connecticut,  C.  P.  Williams,  in  1901, 
drove  the  old  "Tantivy"  between  Watch  Hill  and  Fort 
Griswold. 

Clarence  Moore  and  others  were  interested  in  a  coach 
running  out  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  in  the 
early  nineties. 

W.  Vernon  Booth,  J.  H.  Moore,  S.  C.  Love  and  other 
gentlemen  financed,  in  1902,  a  coach  from  the  Auditorium 
Hotel,  Chicago,  to  the  Onwentsia  Club  during  the  summer 
season. 

226 


AMERICAN   ROAD-COACHING 

In  1 90 1  and  1902  R.  F.  Carman  put  on  the  coach 
"Reliance,"  between  Sherry's,  New  York,  and  Morris  Park, 
during  the  spring  and  fall  race  meetings,  and  in  1900  the 
same  gentleman  and  others  ran  the  "  Monmouth "  between 
Seabright  and  Deal  Lake,  New  Jersey. 

In  1898  and  1899  Seward  Gary  ran  the  "Red  Jacket" 
coach  from  Buffalo  to  Niagara  Falls. 

During  the  years  from  1898  to  1902  the  "Good  Times" 
coach  ran  from  the  Waldorf  to  various  nearby  points,  and 
was  backed  by  various  gentleman,  as  G.  B.  Hulme,  W.  L. 
Beadleston,  L.  Kip,  etc. 

About  1899  H.  K.  Bloodgood  and  a  friend  ran  a  coach 
from  Great  Barrington  to  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts. 

In  1885  E.  Fownes  and  Harry  Evans  put  on  the  old 
"Vivid"  between  Newport  and  Tiverton.  • 

Barclay  Warburton  drove  a  coach,  in  1895  and  1896, 
from  Philadelphia  to  Haverford,  Pennsylvania. 

Several  other  public  coaches,  of  which  particulars  are 
not  at  hand,  have  been  placed  in  commission  for  brief  periods 
during  the  past  fifteen  years,  and  have  almost  invariably 
been  accorded  liberal  patronage. 

In  1903  the  sport  enjoyed  an  unprecedented  boom,  and 
at  certain  hours  daily  Fifth  Avenue  was  vibrant  with  the 
merry  music  of  the  horn,  while  Seventh  Avenue,  with  the 
various  "  change  teams  "  waiting  the  arrival  of  their  respective 
vehicle,  presented  a  stirring  spectacle  of  "down  the  road" 
life  as  exhilarating  as  it  was  novel.  Various  hostelries  on 
Fifth  Avenue  were  all  agog  twice  daily  to  speed  the  depart- 
ing and  welcome  the  returning  coaches.  The  "Pioneer" 
(A.  G.  Vanderbilt  and  R.  W.  Rives,  coachmen),  the 
"Reliance"  (R.  F.  Carman,  coachman),  the  "Liberty"  (J.  H. 
Hyde,   coachman),    the    "Freelance"    and    "Good    Times" 

227 


DRIVING 

(W.  H.  Beadleston,  Kearney,  and  others,  coachmen),  the 
"Squadron  A"  coach  (G.  Fahys  and  others,  coachmen), 
the  Westchester  coach,  etc.,  were  all  actively  at  work,  keeping 
their  time  well,  booking  heavily,  and  well  done  throughout, 
and  the  various  other  routes  over  which  they  travelled  were, 
bar  the  all-enveloping  dust  of  a  most  arid  springtime,  both 
picturesque  and  rural  of  environment. 

The  good  this  coaching  activity  of  1903  has  done  the 
sport  will  not  so  readily  fade  in  memory  or  in  effect.  We 
have  in  abundance  all  the  essentials  of  unsurpassed  vehicles, 
inexpensive  propelling  power,  good  roads,  attractive  desti- 
nations, and  an  enthusiastic  public,  the  only  drawback  being 
a  lack  of  energy  on  the  part  of  those  who  might  and  can 
afford  to  foster  and  promote  such  imdertakings. 


228 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE    HEAVY-HARNESS    HORSE 

It  IS  fortunate  for  the  purveyor,  as  for  the  consumer  of 
horseflesh,  that  all  tastes  are  not  similar,  and  that  ideas  as 
to  conformation,  manners,  deportment,  pace  and  action  vary- 
widely.  In  no  country  is  the  public  fancy  so  catholic  as  here, 
and  nowhere  are  the  animals  used,  for  labour  or  for  purposes 
of  pleasure,  in  so  many  different  methods  and  for  such  a 
wonderfully  large  variety  of  requirements.  Even  in  relation 
to  the  heavy -harness  horse,  which  only  we  will  discuss  here, 
his  paths  of  usefulness  range  from  the  coach  to  the  family 
carryall,  from  park  to  station  work,  from  the  elaborate 
brougham  to  the  rough-and-ready  doctor's  buggy. 

As  a  general  rule,  it  may  be  safely  argued  that  we,  as 
buyers,  shall  prove  ourselves  farsighted  if  we  school  ourselves 
to  be  satisfied  with  the  steed  handicapped  with  as  few 
undesirable  qualities  as  possible,  rather  than  to  ardently 
pursue  that  chimera  of  perfection  in  contour  and  in  character 
which  is  so  rarely  encountered — so  enormously  expensive 
when  attained.  Even  approach  to  it  in  greater  or  less  degree 
hugely  enhances  values  and  renders  the  matter  of  purchase 
an  exceedingly  formidable  investment,  especially  when  it  is 
borne  in  mind  that  exceptional  quality  in  one's  horse  is 
generally  the  motive  for  increased  outlay  for  vehicles  and 
equipments  to  set  off  and  to  harmonise  with  his  beauty. 
Blessed  is  he,  therefore,  who  is,  in  these  days  of  scarcity, 
easily  satisfied,  for  he  shall,  in  the  balancing  of  his  accounts, 
meet  his  just  reward. 

229 


DRIVING 

One  essential,  however,  need  never  prove  costly,  be  the 
subject's  merit  as  high  or  as  low  as  may  be.  The  animal, 
whether  for  phaeton  or  plough,  must  be  truly  proportioned  and 
harmoniously  constructed.  No  fiddle-headed,  gross-barrelled, 
slim-legged,  cat-hammed,  cow-hocked,  splay-footed  brutes 
should,  or  need,  ever  find  sanctuary  in  the  private  stable, 
however  unpretentious  it  and  its  owner  may  be.  There  ^  is 
excellent  reason  for  this — something  beyond  the  mere  "  fitness 
of  things" — for  the  well-proportioned  horse  is  generally 
competent  for  his  tasks;  the  harmony  of  his  outline  and  the 
correctness  of  his  structure  insure  that,  and  afford  a  genuine 
indication  of  personal  merit.  This  quality  impresses  itself 
much  more  strongly  upon  the  feminine  than  upon  the 
masculine  eye,  and  a  woman  will,  even  though  she  knows 
absolutely  nothing  of  horses,  prove  astoundingly  correct  in 
her  selections,  and  for  no  other  reason  than  that  the  beast 
in  question  impresses  her  favourably,  her  educated  eye 
accepting  at  once  the  true  relative  proportions  which  fail 
entirely  to  appeal  to  her  worse  half,  whose  fancies  for  this 
and  that  non-essential  blind  him  to  the  vital  importance 
of  the  ensemble.  Thus,  ever  thus,  with  masterful  man: 
matter  must  be  reduced  to  the  crudities  of  his  individual 
conception  before  he  will  brand  it  as  good  and  sufficient  for 
his  purposes. 

In  the  native  horse  of  America — the  trotting-bred  horse — 
t.  e.,  one  in  whose  veins  flows  a  preponderance  or  a  moiety 
of  the  blood  of  the  trotter — we  possess  an  animal  unique 
in  his  excellence  at  all  purposes  of  work  or  pleasure:  in  field 
or  on  race-course,  in  peace  or  in  war,  in  any  climate  and  on 
any  nourishment;  imbued  with  good  blood,  high  courage, 
and  endurance  from  various  sources  and  varieties,  native 
and  foreign ;  endorsed  by  the  recognition,  approval  and  eager 

230 


THE    HEAVY-HARNESS    HORSE 

acquisition  of  all  other  nations;  a  creature  that  is  to-day, 
as  he  shall  ever  be  in  years  to  come,  regarded  as  among  the 
most  wonderful  and  successful  developments  of  this  extraor- 
dinary New  World  of  ours.  While  he  has  been,  through 
the  enterprise  and  liberality  of  various  importers  and  breeders 
of  alien  varieties,  generously  crossed  with  the  Arab,  the 
French  coach-horse  and  French  trotter,  the  hackney,  the 
Cleveland  bay,  the  German  coach-horse,  the  Russian  trotter, 
etc.,  he  has  gained  little  from,  but  has  contributed  much  to, 
the  descendants  of  such  blending  of  strains  and  blood  lines. 
His  beauty  is  his  own;  his  conformation  is,  in  the  best 
specimens,  perfect,  and  so  recognised  by  judges  in  the  show- 
rings  of  all  countries;  his  temper  is,  in  any  sex,  amiable;  his 
individuality  is  marked;  his  pace  is  of  the  most  marvellous, 
as  is  his  courage  and  endurance;  while  so  unique  is  his 
versatility  that  the  high  action,  which  in  the  case  of  all 
other  varieties  is  the  evolution  of  years  and  generations  of 
patient  and  skilful  development,  is,  in  the  case  of  the  American 
trotting  horse,  an  almost  instinctive  latent  possession, 
enduring  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  eradicate  it,  the  outcome  of 
his  natural  true  balance  and  harmony  of  proportion.  When 
one  realises  that  so  extraordinarily  is  this  true  of  him  that 
it  is  but  necessary  to  shoe  heavily,  to  change  the  poise  by 
bitting,  etc.,  for  a  few  weeks  (or  even  days),  when  hey,  presto  ! 
your  low-going,  daisy-cutting,  2 :20  trotter  becomes  as  by  a 
miracle  the  airy,  high- stepping  park  and  show  horse,  and 
that,  by  a  reversal  of  the  processes,  he  resumes  his  former 
carriage  and  pace — what  more  can  one,  or  need  one,  write 
in  laudation  of  his  marvellous  versatility?  What  horse  of 
what  country  can  approach  him?  What  need  has  he  of 
infusion  of  any  foreign  blood,  be  it  as  meritorious  as  it  may  ? 
Much  as  we  owe  to  the  horse-shows  which   are  now  so 

231 


DRIVING 

universal  throughout  the  country,  we  for  a  time  suffered 
hysteria  to  overcome  us  in  the  fancy  for  extravagant  and 
useless  action  and  pace  in  our  selection  of  typical  heavy- 
harness  horses.  Judges  were  carried  away  by  the  rapid  and 
superlative  development  our  home-bred  horses  evidenced. 
"  Contortionists "  and  "  acrobats "  of  all  sizes  (and  shapes) 
were  upheld  as  marvels,  provided  they  could  hurl  their  knees 
and  forefeet  to  extraordinary  altitudes;  could  "snatch" 
their  hocks  with  the  abruptness  and  awkwardness  of  the 
victim  to  string-halt  (from  which  more  than  one  of  the  elect 
stiff ers);  and  could  tear  about  a  ring  at  a  pace  impossible 
and  unlawful  to  pursue  in  park  or  on  road.  Like  a  fancy  for 
caviar  and  decayed  woodcock,  this  diseased  and  artificially 
acquired  taste  was,  while  the  novelty  lasted,  insatiable,  but 
the  cloyed  palate  has  finally  rejected  the  unwholesome  diet 
as  unsatisfactory,  and  the  level-going,  nimble,  true-actioned 
animal  is  again  meeting  the  reward  which  is  his  due,  alike 
from  judges  and  from  purchasers. 

The  structure  of  our  harness  horse  need  not  be  as  robust 
nor  as  heavily  boned  in  proportion  to  his  size  and  weight  as 
we  are  accustomed  to  require  in  him  and  to  insist  upon  in 
the  hack  and  hunter.  It  must  always  be  borne  in  mind 
that  his  bone  is  a  good,  dense,  solid,  well-bred,  ivory-like 
substance,  more  enduring  than  that  of  greater  amplitude 
characteristic  of  the  coarse-bred  varieties.  The  coarse- 
jointed  beast,  however,  is  not  infrequently  more  strongly 
articulated  than  the  delicate  and  smoothly  made  one,  and 
we  may  here  note  that  the  genuine  "coarse-hock,"  which  is 
a  harmonious  peculiarity  very  often  of  such  a  one,  is  ruggedly 
strong,  and  not  to  be  regarded  with  the  suspicion  attaching  to 
the  "coarse"  hock  of  the  otherwise  smooth- join  ted  animal, 
which  is  generally,  in  such  connection,  true  spavin. 

232 


THE    HEAVY-HARNESS    HORSE 

These  attributes  should  be  small  (in  proportion)  in  a 
horse — his  head,  his  ears;  these  should  be  large — his  girth, 
his  forearm,  his  width  round  the  stifles  and  across  the  breech- 
ing, his  knees  and  hocks,  his  eyes;  these  should  be  short — 
his  cannon  bones,  his  ears,  his  back;  these  should  be  long — 
his  neck,  his  forearms  and  thighs,  his  ribs,  his  distance  from 
elbow  to  stifle;  these  should  be  broad — his  brow,  his  loins, 
his  feet,  his  hocks,  his  (upper)  chest,  his  jaws,  his  nostrils; 
these  shoiild  be  narrow — his  (lower)  chest,  his  withers. 

The  head  should  be  well  cut  and  finely  placed  upon  a 
long,  thin,  arched,  fine- throttled  neck;  wide  at  the  jaws;  fine 
and  erect  of  ear;  prominent  and  bold  of  eye;  the  arching 
neck  running  into  a  good  and  fairly  sloping,  broad  shoulder; 
the  withers  high  and  narrow;  the  chest  deep,  and  not  so 
wide  as  to  awkwardly  affect  the  setting  on  of  the  legs  at  the 
elbows;  these  straight  and  clear  of  the  body,  neither  turned 
in  (insuring  turning  out  of  the  toes,  and  consequently  defec- 
tive action)  or  turned  out  (causing  the  pigeon-toed  formation 
which  is  always  equally  objectionable);  the  forearm  broad, 
thick,  well-muscled,  and  long  in  proportion  to  the  cannon 
bone  (although  many  extravagant  goers  are  very  short  here) ; 
and  the  cannon  bone  straight  between  the  broad,  flat  knee 
and  the  well-placed  fetlock;  the  pastern  neither  too  short 
nor  too  long,  running  into  black,  tough  hoofs,  proportionately 
broad,  open  and  sound.  The  short,  gracefully  curved  back 
(although  a  pronounced  dip  is  neither  noticeable  nor  objection- 
able in  heavy  harness) ;  the  broad  loins,  well-muscled ;  the 
long,  symmetrical  quarters  and  second  thighs;  the  hock 
broad,  clean,  well-articulated,  straight,  resting  evenly  upon 
a  broad,  strong  shank,  running  to  pasterns  set  true  and  slightly 
more  upright  than  those  in  front.  A  silky  coat,  and  tail 
and  mane  of  fine  straight  hair,  indicate  good  birth. 

233 


DRIVING 

In  height  the  heavy -harness  horse  runs  from  14.3  to  17 
hands,  the  generally  acceptable  sizes  being  from  14.3  to  16 — or 
rather  under  the  latter  height.  Native  buyers  are  nowadays 
reluctant  to  purchase  extremely  large  horses  for  the  reason 
that  American  carriages  do  not  harmonise  with  nor  demand 
them;  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  procure  a  mate  for  a  big 
horse;  and  that  the  very  size  of  these  giants  proclaims  the 
fact  that  they  descend  from  some  alien  strain  which  has 
bequeathed  them,  together  with  its  bulk,  its  lethargy,  lack 
of  pace,  of  action  and  of  endurance.  The  landau,  now 
falling  into  fashionable  disuse,  the  family  'bus  and  the  coach 
afford  the  only  avenues  of  usefulness  for  the  "big  'uns," 
and  for  the  last  two  purposes  smaller  horses  are  found 
more  generally  satisfactory.  Horses  are  now  regularly  used 
on  phaetons,  victorias,  broughams,  etc.,  not  more  than  from 
14.3  to  1 5. 1  hands,  and  even  the  gig-horse  has  been  accepted  as 
typical  when  but  14.35  liig^»  while  that  is  also  the  ideal  size 
for  nmabout  or  other  "light-heavy"  harness  work.  These 
results  are  more  rational  than  at  first  might  be  supposed, 
since  a  corresponding  "miniaturing"  of  all  sorts  of  American 
carriages  and  harnesses  has  accompanied,  or  resulted  from, 
the  general  abandonment  of  the  large  and  heavy  old  style 
of  carriage  horse. 

If  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  "general  purpose"  horse, 
our  native  product  nearly  fills  the  bill.  You  can  parade 
him  through  the  park  with  the  high-steppers  and  he  is  "all 
there  " ;  you  may  drive  on  up  to  the  Speedway  and  brush  with 
the  flyers  with  fair  success;  you  and  the  family  can  always 
"catch  a  train"  with  him  in  the  country;  he  gives  you  a 
fair  ride  under  the  saddle ;  while  at  a  pinch  he  hauls  the  culti- 
vator in  the  garden  or  the  mowing  machine  on  the  lawn. 

"Absolute    soimdness"    is    a   bugaboo    to    the    average 

234 


THE    HEAVY-HARNESS    HORSE 

would-be  buyer,  a  phrase  which,  parrot-like,  he  repeats, 
knowing  no  good  reasons  for  his  insistence,  but  fearing  to 
accept  an  animal  which  the  verdict  of  the  veterinary  surgeon 
fails  to  absolutely  approve  as  sound  in  every  way — careless 
or  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  no  such  animal  really  exists, 
and  that  if  he  did  a  very  few  weeks'  or  months'  usage  would 
relegate  him  to  the  "practically  sound"  division,  as  even 
such  immaterial  blemishes  as  wire-marks  and  wind-galls  will 
serve  to  do.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  decided  departures  from 
this  condition  often  in  no  possible  manner  affect  a  horse's 
usefulness.  Of  course,  his  wind  should  be  sound,  although 
even  here  the  "whistler"  and  the  "grunter"  are,  for  certain 
kinds  of  carriage  work,  perfectly  appropriate,  and  he  is  not 
incapacitated  by  such  almost  unnoticeable  infirmities. 
Heaves,  which  is  a  disease  of  the  lungs  requiring  a  violent 
muscular  action  of  the  diaphragm  to  expel  the  air  which  the 
destroyed  or  enfeebled  air-cells  fail  to  do,  of  course  directly 
interferes  with  usefulness.  Eyes  should  be  good,  although 
the  loss  of  one  by  an  accident  is  no  detriment  to  service. 
Ophthalmia  and  other  progressive  diseases  of  the  organ  are 
of  course  to  be  rejected.  Wind-galls  or  enlarged  bursae 
rarely  cause  trouble,  and  thorough-pin  belongs  in  the  same 
category. 

Splints  are,  while  in  process  of  growth  (or  when  grown) 
between  the  larger  bones  of  the  leg,  or  under  or  near  a  tendon, 
a  prolific  cause  of  unsoundness.  Once  growth  stops,  however, 
Nature  adapts  herself  to  <:hanged  conditions,  and  little  harm 
results.  Always  to  be  regarded  with  suspicion  on  young 
and  immature  horses,  they  cause  little  or  no  trouble  to  the 
mature  animal,  providing  growth  has  ceased,  and  partake 
merely  of  the  character  of  a  blemish. 

Bone  spavin  is  serious  when  the  mechanical  action  of  the 

235 


DRIVING 

joint  is  impeded  by  the  growth,  when  the  process  of  maturing 
causes  acute  inflammation,  and  when  the  joint  itself  becomes 
anchylosed.  Many  horses  may  be  found  working  on  in 
perfect  comfort  after  the  growth  has  been  "killed"  by  firing, 
etc.,  and  practically  sound.  Bog  or  blood  spavin  is  merely 
a  varicose  condition  of  the  large  vein  running  over  in  front 
of  the  hock. 

Curbs  constitute  blemishes  only  after  the  lameness  accom- 
panying the  intense  inflammation  of  the  rupture  or  sprain 
has  passed.  Any  horse  may  "  spring "  one,  but,  of  course, 
the  weak,  crooked  hindleg  is  more  susceptible  to  this  injury 
than  that  of  normal  shape.  Curbs  and  splints  almost 
invariably  diminish  or  disappear  entirely  with  age,  and  the 
fact  that  another  cannot  appear  at  the  place  where  one 
already  exists  is  a  consolation  to  the  captious.  A  high- 
heeled  shoe  will,  except  in  the  most  acute  cases,  enable 
the  victim  to  curb  to  keep  on  in  work. 

String-halt  is,  by  a  modem  operation  of  dividing  a  nerve, 
generally  curable,  and  the  operation  will  only  lay  a  horse 
up  for  two  weeks  or  thereabouts. 

Interfering,  speedy-cutting,  knee-hitting,  etc.,  are  all 
consequences  of  malformation,  and  preventable  by  proper 
shoeing  and  by  suitable  boots. 

Corns,  quarter-cracks,  quitters,  etc.  (now  very  rare), 
are  mostly  to  be  alleviated  by  intelligent  care  of  the  feet 
and  suitable  shoeing,  and  horses  thus  afflicted  may  work 
on  at  the  hardest  labour  for  years.  Ring-bones,  as  augmented 
by  concussion  and  as  affecting  the  action  of  the  joint,  are 
very  often  serious  impediments  to  usefulness,  at  least  at 
fast  work,  and  while  firing  may  help  them,  one  can  never 
be  sure  that  the  growth  is  definitely  checked.  Side-bone 
produces  acute  lameness,  and,  through  the  change  it  causes  in 

236 


THE    HEAVY-HARNESS    HORSE 

the  cartilaginous  structure  of  the  coronet,  is  never  curable, 
nerving  being  the  only  palliative.  Navicular  disease  is  very 
common  and  is  a  destructive  form  of  unsoundness,  although 
even  with  this  trouble  horses  work  on  indefinitely.  For  the 
two  latter  troubles,  as  for  several  others,  the  operation  of 
neurotomy  is  thoroughly  practical  and  a  great  boon  to  the 
suffering  equine.  Horses  nowadays  are  nerved  for  all  sorts 
of  unsoundness,  and  the  operation,  with  the  assistance  of 
cocaine,  is  both  brief  and  painless.  Frequently  the  division 
is  made  even  as  high  as  the  chest,  between  the  forelegs, 
and  many  animals  are  working  to-day  in  perfect  freedom 
from  pain,  and  enjoying  to  the  full  that  life  which  is  pre- 
sumably as  sweet  to  them  as  ours  is  to  us.  Contrary  to 
general  prejudice,  it  is  a  necessary  and  merciful  operation. 

Firing  is  another  much-misunderstood  proceeding,  which 
by  its  action  and  effect  provides  not  only  a  powerful  temporary 
counterirritant,  but  a  perpetual  and  inelastic  bandage  and 
support  to  the  parts.  Under  modem  processes  its  blemishes 
are  slight,  and  there  is  no  reason  for  the  prejudice  which 
exists  against  the  operation  and  the  indelible  marks  it  leaves. 
Thousands  of  animals  are  limping  about  their  daily  tasks 
which  the  application  of  the  merciful  iron  would  render 
practically  sound. 

Enlarged  legs,  if  resulting  from  injury  to  the  sheath  of 
the  tendon,  etc.,  will  probably  demand  firing  to  be  surely 
trustworthy.  Enlarged  joints,  unless  caused  by  osselets, 
are,  like  wind-galls,  merely  honourable  marks  of  hard  work 
done,  and,  if  one  does  not  mind  the  appearance,  generally  of 
little  detriment  to  harness  work;  and  the  same  may  be  said 
of  sprung  knees,  cockled  ankles,  etc.  None  of  these 
departures  from  soundness  will  especially  concern  the  fortu- 
nate individual   whose  purse  enables  him  always  to  secure 

237 


DRIVING 

the  best  regardless  of  cost,  but  there  is  a  huge  majority  of 
other  horse-consumers  who  fear  to  invest  in  anything  to 
which  the  appellation  "  sound "  may  not  properly  apply, 
and  who  overlook  thereby  many  excellent,  serviceable  and 
inexpensive  bargains. 

Of  the  vices  which  the  charioteer  will  generally  meet, 
the  most  common  are  running  away,  shying,  balking  and 
kicking.  Of  the  first  infirmity  one  can  only  advise  that  the 
perpetrator  be  immediately  destroyed  as  the  only  safeguard 
against  a  repetition  of  the  act  because  of  the  panic  which  may, 
at  any  moment,  again  overcome  the  foolish  and  timid  creature. 
Of  shying  one  can  only  say  that,  as  "familiarity  breeds  con- 
tempt," the  subject  is  to  be  thoroughly  familiarised  with 
any  objects  he  fears ;  and  that  if  he  fears  everything,  or  most 
things,  his  eyes  are  at  fault,  and  he  is  either  to  be  disposed  of 
or  driven  with  a  blind  across  or  inside  the  blinkers,  which 
prevents  him  from  seeing  anything  but  the  ground  in  front 
of  his  feet,  the  same  arrangement  being  serviceable  with 
a  runaway  if  he  7nust  be  used.  The  balker  is  always  curable, 
given  patience  and  a  determination  to  outlast  him  at  his 
game;  and  such  a  horse,  once  conquered,  is  generally  an 
excellent,  resolute  and  high-couraged  creature.  To  start 
him,  do  anything  to  divert  his  attention — for  the  horse  is  an 
animal  of  one  idea — and  whatever  you  do,  never  whip  him. 
He  will  rarely  persevere  in  double  harness,  whatever  he  does 
in  single.  The  kicker  must  be  kept  at  hard  work  and  always 
checked  high,  and  thoroughly  kicking-st rapped  if  he  is 
to  be  safely  used,  but  he  had  far  better  be  passed  along 
to  the  cab  or  grocer's  wagon  which  awaits  him,  as  he  is 
never  to  be  trusted. 

The  young  horse  is  never  to  be  desired  for  family  carriage 
purposes.     His  years  preclude  the  possession  of  that  experi- 

238 


THE    HEAVY-HARNESS    HORSE 

ence  and  steadiness  under  all  circumstances  which  we  should 
insist  upon  in  such  as  are  to  be  used  by  our  loved  ones.  He 
also  has  all  his  physical  trials  and  ills  before  him,  and  it  is 
foolish  to  risk  his  passing  through  these  hazards  at  your  ex- 
pense. Far  better  for  every  reason  the  sedate  and  worldly- 
wise  beast  of  from  eight  to  ten  or  even  twelve  years,  and  he 
will  under  ordinary  conditions  render  good  service  for  eight 
or  ten  years  longer — then  deserving  at  your  hand  a  merciful 
and  painless  end  and  a  decent  and  respectful  burial. 

The  age  of  the  horse  is  plainly  indicated,  up  to  the  age 
of  six  years,  by  the  development  of  the  teeth,  and  the  same 
is  generally  though  not  always  true  of  the  mouth  at  seven 
and  eight  years.  Crib-biting  and  other  attrition  will  greatly 
change  appearance  and  destroy  the  marks.  Other  indications, 
as  the  hollowness  above  the  eyes,  the  length,  angle  and  colour 
of  the  teeth,  etc.,  afford  to  the  expert  fairly  reliable  clues 
on  which  to  hazard  a  good  guess  after  this  age,  but  it  can  only 
be  surmised.  The  "  gyp  "  dealers  employ  various  artifices  to 
simulate  youth,  but  these  tricks  are  unworthy  consideration 
here,  nor  are  any  of  our  readers  likely  to  come  in  contact 
with  these  gentry. 

From  ten  to  fifteen  miles  a  day  is  none  too  much  for  the 
healthy  horse,  provided  the  pace  be  moderate;  and,  once  a 
horse  is  in  condition,  he  will  do  better  and  last  longer  if  he  is 
maintained  always  in  such  order  than  if  annually  turned  out 
for  the  summer  or  winter  months,  with  the  haphazard  care  he 
usually  receives.  His  muscles  grow  flabby  at  such  times, 
and  it  takes  months  to  get  him  again  into  the  condition  of 
exuberant  health  which  regular  grooming  and  proper  feed 
insure.  We  have  made  him  to  a  great  extent  an  artificial 
animal,  and  he  does  not  need  nor  relish  the  relapse  into 
primitive  conditions  which,  with  mistaken  kindness,  we  force 

239 


DRIVING 

upon  him.  Two  hours  a  day,  six  days  a  week,  are  none  too 
much  for  him,  year  in  and  year  out,  and  at  times,  with  advan- 
tage to  himself,  much  more  severe  labour  may  be  exacted 
of  him.  We  keep  horses  to  use,  and  the  odd  part  of  it  is 
that  we  do  not  half  use  them,  but  kill  more  with  pampering 
than  we  ever  do  with  work. 

The  horse's  stomach  is  small,  and  frequent  moderate 
feeds  are  thereby  indicated.  They  do  well  on  three  meals  a 
day,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  four  would  be  to  their  diges- 
tion's advantage.  The  best  of  food  materials  are  now  obtain- 
able everywhere  and  at  most  reasonable  figures.  Deep 
straw  beds  should  always  be  provided,  clean,  dry  and  sweet, 
and  the  unwholesome  peat  moss  shunned  with  the  greatest 
care.  A  few  roots  or  apples,  a  little  grass,  a  sod  to  gnaw  at 
(which  will  be  greatly  relished  and  will  sweeten  the  stomach) , 
an  ample  supply  of  salt,  with  sugar  and  cheap  molasses  for 
change  flavourings,  will  keep  your  humble  servants  contented 
and  healthy.  Water  should  be  always  within  their  reach 
day  and  night,  especially  at  night  after  and  during  a 
hearty  meal  of  dry  hay.  These  matters,  and  those  relating 
to  stalls,  ventilation,  etc.,  occupy  another  chapter  in  this  book. 

Everybody,  man,  woman  or  child,  should  understand 
the  salient  points  of  a  horse's  character  and  be  able  to  form 
an  approximate  estimate  of  an  animxal's  disposition  after 
some  study  of  its  habits  and  general  features.  In  fact,  no 
one  can  become  a  good  driver  until  he  knows  how  to  judge 
the  animal  he  is  to  guide.  To  be  able  to  distinguish  a  horse 
of  a  gentle  disposition  from  one  inclined  to  be  tricky  or 
vicious  is  indispensable. 

The  eye  and  the  ear  are  the  two  principal  features  to 
be  closely  regarded  as  the  indices  to  the  tractability  and 
gentleness  of  the  animal. 

240 


THE    HEAVY-HARNESS    HORSE 

A  clear  eye  of  moderate  size  should  be  sought  after  as 
indicating  obedience  and  intelligence.  A  horse  having  a 
set,  staring  eye  is  almost  sure  to  shy  as  being  near-sighted, 
and  to  be  foolishly  frightened  without  cause.  As  in  man, 
breadth  between  the  eyes  indicates  good  judgment.  Large 
full  eyes  always  belong  to  a  kindly  natured  animal,  just  as 
small  eyes  drawn  up  at  the  corners  indicate  a  cunning  horse, 
never  to  be  depended  upon  under  the  most  favourable 
circumstances. 

The  ear  should  be  regarded  with  care,  as  its  attitude 
and  movements  telegraph  the  workings  of  the  animal's  brain. 

Horses  which  habitually  hold  their  ears  in  one  position 
are  usually  dull,  stupid  creatures,  slow  of  gait,  and  not  to 
be  hurried  by  any  amount  of  coaxing  or  urging.  Ofttimes 
deafness  or  difficulty  in  hearing  can  be  determined  by  watch- 
ing a  horse's  ears,  which  will  remain  immovable  and  undis- 
turbed when  any  sudden  noise  occurs,  plainly  indicating 
that  the  animal  is  unaware  of  any  unusual  sound. 

Some  trainers  of  horses  have  pet  theories  that  the  colour 
of  a  horse  has  something  to  do  with  his  disposition,  claiming 
that  chestnuts  and  sorrels  are  likely  to  be  high-strung 
creatures,  and  giving  grey  horses  credit  for  docility.  It  is  also 
contended  that  colour  has  much  to  do  with  the  comfort  of 
the  animal  when  exposed  to  the  sun's  rays,  especially  in  the 
summer  season,  but  observations  have  not  demonstrated  the 
truth  of  this  supposition,  as  it  has  been  clearly  shown  that 
dark  horses  are  able  to  do  just  as  much  work  without  showing 
fatigue  as  those  of  a  lighter  colour.  This  may  be  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  the  coat  is  a  non-conductor  within 
certain  limits,  so  that  it  probably  makes  little  difference 
what  colour  it  is  so  far  as  the  temperature  of  the  parts 
beneath  is  concerned. 

241 


DRIVING 

In  the  education,  mouthing  and  mannering  of  our  heavy- 
harness  horses  the  characteristic  American  impetuosity 
is  abundantly  in  evidence.  Haste  and  haphazard  signahse 
all  such  proceedings,  and  for  every  pupil  "made"  there  are 
several  marred  beyond  redemption.  Unlike  other  countries, 
most  of  our  raw  material  has  been  trained  in  quite  a  different 
school  and  under  essentially  varying  methods  from  the 
curriculum  appropriate  to  work  in  heavy  leather,  and,  as  a 
consequence,  we  are  called  upon  not  only  to  correct  and 
obliterate  such  instruction,  but  to  accomplish  this  with  an 
animal  mature  in  years,  set  and  developed  in  a  certain  car- 
riage and  action;  and  to  attempt  to  work,  in  a  few  days  or 
hours,  the  reform  which  might  well  occupy  months  of  patience 
and  skill.  What  wonder,  then,  that  pullers,  one-rein  drivers, 
sidelong-goers,  over-reachers  and  interferers  are  as  common 
as  they  are.  The  young  horse,  fresh  from  the  farm  or  the 
trotting- track  and  the  open  bridle,  easy  and  intelligible 
snaffle-bit,  overdraw  check  and  comfortable  breeching, 
which  have  been  his  accouterments  thereon,  finds  himself 
suddenly  caparisoned  in  an  enormous-blinkered  heavy  bridle, 
a  most  confusing  combination  of  straight  bit,  curb-chain 
and  gag-check,  and  discovers  that  no  longer  must  he  hold 
back  his  vehicle  by  his  quarters,  but  most  uncomfortably  by 
a  sometimes  sharp  crupper  under  his  tail  and  a  frequently 
narrow  girth  tightly  drawn  about  his  body,  the  pressure 
causing  the  saddle  sometimes  to  painfully  pinch  and  bruise 
his  withers.  The  signal  to  advance  has  hitherto  been  a 
gentle  " c'lk,"  or  a  movement  of  the  bit  in  his  mouth;  now  he 
receives  a  more  or  less  sharp  cut  from  a  whip  he  cannot  see; 
and  some  idiotic  command  like  "  Pull  up ! "  (which  may  be 
early  English,  but  is  utterly  unintelligible  to  him).  Botmding 
forward  at  this  unexpected  treatment,  he  is  met  by  a  jab  in 

242 


THE    HEAVY-HARNESS    HORSE 

the  mouth  and  a  sharp  pinch  under  the  chin  from  the  heavy 
bit  and  curb-chain.  Flying  back  to  escape  the  pain,  he 
receives  another  blow,  and,  as  he  finally  starts  off,  is  amazed 
to  feel  a  pull  upon  one  lower  side  of  his  mouth  which  is  also 
felt  upon  the  other  upper  side,  and  in  equal  degree !  What 
this  portends  he  has  no  idea,  and  while  he  hesitates  in 
bewilderment,  various  cuts  from  the  whip  compel  him  to 
turn  first  one  way  and  then  the  other,  until  he  chances  to  hit 
it  off  correctly,  and  is  enabled  to  figure  out  that,  of  the  two 
pressures,  he  must  disregard  one,  and  that  he  can  easiest  do 
so  by  opening  his  mouth  and  allowing  the  bit  to  slide  about. 
He  also  finds  that  pressure  imder  the  chin,  which  in  the  days 
of  overhead-check  and  jaw-strap  meant  "Hold  up  your  head 
and  straighten  your  neck,"  now  means,  as  interpreted  by 
the  curb-chain,  "  Hold  in  your  nose  and  arch  your  crest,  "  or 
worse  will  follow — and  it  is  a  grand  tribute  to  his  intelligence 
that  he  so  successfully  solves  the  riddle  in  as  many  cases  as 
results  prove  that  he  does.  What  wonder  that  occasionally 
in  desperation  he  balks,  kicks,  throws  himself,  and  other- 
wise testifies  his  distress  and  bewilderment?  Especially 
when  his  freshly  docked  tail  is  aching,  his  sensitive  mouth 
and  its  bars  are  horribly  bruised,  and  his  harness  is  so  novel 
and  so  uncomfortable.  Should  his  mouth  be  deeply  bruised 
in  these  first  lessons  (?),  and  should  his  owner  continue  to 
drive  him,  he  quickly  discovers  that  his  surest  road  to  relief 
from  acute  agony  is  to  pull  hard  until  the  combination  of  bit 
and  tight  curb-chain  have  destroyed  all  sensation  in  mouth 
and  jaw. 

The  heavy-harness  horse  should,  to  be  really  first-class 
in  his  business,  gradually  be  initiated  in  the  intricacies  of  his 
new  surroundings,  and  time  given  him  not  only  to  make  a 
satisfactory  mouth,   but  to   acquire  that  change  of  poise, 

«43 


DRIVING 

balance  and  carriage  which  his  environments  demand  and 
his  heavy  shoes,  etc.,  compel.  The  "  dumb- jockey "  must 
be  regularly  and  for  brief  intervals  applied,  and  he  must  be 
allowed  to  develop  the  new  neck  muscles  which  his  new 
posture  will  heavily  draw  upon.  He  should  never  be  tightly 
"borne  up"  by  the  check  at  first,  but  should  be  allowed 
first  to  thoroughly  warm  and  supple  his  muscles  by  exercise; 
or  better  still,  be  driven  in  a  moderate  check,  if  one  is  used, 
and,  when  returned  from  exercise  and  taken  from  the  carriage, 
be  checked  up  high  and  left  for  fifteen  minutes  or  so  to  bend 
and  "make"  himself  by  yielding  to  its  pressure — which  he 
will  readily  do,  as,  in  his  condition,  it  causes  him  no 
pain  to  yield. 


244 


CHAPTER  XXV 

TYPE     FOR     PURPOSE 

The  horse  of  the  period  is  always  such  as  the  period 
requires  and  as  the  utiHtarian  and  fashionable  public  of  that 
epoch  endorses  for  certain  given  purposes.  Horse  shows 
have  up  to  date  (1903)  been  popular  in  America  for  nineteen 
years,  but  complaint  is  constantly  made  that  no  standard 
types  have  as  yet  been  arrived  at  by  show  judges  and  accepted 
as  correct  by  the  buying  public.  That  this  is  true  is  indis- 
putable, but  that  it  is  the  natural  outcome  of  constantly 
changing  conditions  and  requirements  is  not  generally  recog- 
nised. Severe  critics  have  blamed  officials,  and  these  latter 
have  been  subject  to  constant  shifts  through  dissatisfaction 
of  executives  and  their  more  or  less  exhaustive  efforts  to 
reach  some  satisfactory  conclusion.  The  judges  them- 
selves, in  their  efforts  to  forestall  criticism  and  to  anticipate 
the  vagaries  of  taste  and  the  rapidity  of  change,  have  proved 
as  frequently  too  progressive  as  too  conservative,  and  con- 
fusion of  type,  not  only  in  general  results  but  among  the 
ribbon-bearers,  has  resulted.  This  tendency  on  the  part  of 
the  officials  has  created  uncertainty  not  only  among  those 
who  buy  for  the  market,  but  among  the  purchasers  them- 
selves, who,  considering  the  show-ring  as  affixing  the  standard, 
search  vainly  for  the  qualifications  therein  endorsed.  It 
has  often  been  said  that  if  the  same  man  or  men  were  to 
judge  year  after  year  a  definite  standard  would  be  reached, 
but  this  has  not  eventuated,  although  occasionally  the  desired 
conditions  have  obtained,  because  the  material  on  view  varies 

245 


DRIVING 

so  greatly,  and  judges  usually  have  great  difficulty  in  following 
a  type  through  the  four  ribbons  if  a  high  order  of  merit  in 
other  respects  is  to  obtain. 

Had  show  classifications  been  originally  founded  on  type, 
not  upon  height  distinction,  it  is  probable  that  intelligent 
advance  would  have  been  more  general,  and  that  we  should 
by  this  time  have  found  the  judicial  efforts  bearing  fruit, 
not  only  in  stable,  park  and  road,  but  in  pasture  and  stud. 
Certain  shapes  of  mares  would,  on  retirement  from  active 
service,  have  been  valuable  for  breeding  purposes;  certain 
stallions  would  have  proved  so  generally  recognised  as 
typical  for  special  purposes  that  their  progeny  would  have 
brought  handsome  returns;  certain  breeds  and  strains  of 
blood  would  have  been  endorsed  for  the  same  reasons — 
whereas,  to-day  everything  is  haphazard;  like  does  not  pro- 
duce like,  nor  even  necessarily  the  likeness  of  some  immediate 
ancestor,  and  type  fluctuates  like  the  tides  of  the  sea. 

When  type  first  began  to  receive  recognition  the  public 
eye  was  led  astray  by  false  proportion,  and  by  a  craze  for  ex- 
travagant action  through  studying,  as  no  other  models  were  at 
hand,  the  more  or  less  illy-drawn  old  prints  which  were  on 
sale.  Horses  were  so  plentiful  and  so  cheap  in  America  at 
the  time,  and  the  trotting-bred  horse  proved  so  adaptable 
to  new  surroundings  and  requirements,  that  it  was  possible 
to  find  in  quantity  animals  which  very  closely  resembled 
these  creatures  of  the  imagination.  Forthwith  the  American 
type,  long  of  leg,  body  and  neck,  flowing  of  mane  and  tail — 
narrow  everywhere — and  generally  undesirable,  was  cast 
aside,  and  the  sturdy,  short-legged,  round-quartered,  blocky 
shape  became  the  rage,  even  as  the  athletic  girl  ousted 
from  her  position  in  masculine  admiration  the  clinging, 
shrinking,    retiring    damsel    of    an    earlier   period;    in   both 

246 


TYPE   FOR   PURPOSE 

cases  the  types  being  totally  opposite,  and  due  to  changed 
conditions  and  tastes. 

With  the  change  of  fashion  in  the  form  required  in  horses 
came  a  variation  in  that  of  vehicles.  The  long  tails  which  are 
so  appropriate — so  absolutely  necessary,  in  fact,  for  screens 
against  dust  and  stones  and  filth — as  appendages  to  animals 
attached  to  any  of  our  American  four-wheeled  vehicles, 
and  which  so  harmonised  with  the  general  effect  of  the 
flowing  lines  of  these  carriages  and  the  slight  harness  used, 
gave  place  to  the  docked  tail ;  the  English  and  French  carriages 
or  their  American-built  imitations  replaced  the  light  and 
serviceable  equipages  as  the  foreign  makes  of  harness  replaced 
the  native.  Dissatisfied  with  home  fashions,  products  and 
requirements,  and  overlooking  the  advances  of  native  civilisa- 
tion, we  adopted  wholesale  the  vehicles,  etc.,  approved  by  the 
most  conservative  nations  on  earth,  and  retired  to  fashions 
at  least  fifty  years  behind  the  times.  These,  however, 
we  are  now  slowly  modifying  to  the  totally  different  reqmre- 
ments  of  our  native  environment. 

"  Type-for-purpose "  has,  despite  all  difficulties,  now, 
however,  become  a  recognised  grade  in  all  the  wholesale 
and  retail  marts  of  the  country.  If  one  enters  a  sale  stable 
he  asks  for  a  "runabout"  horse,  a  "brougham"  horse,  a 
"phaeton"  pair,  and  qualifies  his  requirements  of  height 
and  shape  in  no  way.  The  dealer  knows  just  what  he  means 
and  produces  the  article  if  he  has  it,  and  these  demarkations 
are  very  distinct — as  for  instance  one  of  an  excellent  phaeton 
pair  may  be  by  no  means  a  runabout  horse,  and  vice  versa; 
and  a  brougham  horse  is  not  essentially  a  crack  park  coach 
wheeler.  This  tacit  understanding,  however,  it  must  be 
confessed,  arises  not  so  much  through  the  mutual  acceptance 
of  a  certain  type  by  buyer  and  seller,  as  because  the  buyer 

247 


DRIVING 

demands  a  horse  for  a  certain  purpose,  and  when  the  dealer 
leads  out  his  offering  the  former  accepts  the  latter' s  endorse- 
ment as  correct,  so  that  the  dealer  really  fixes  the  type. 

It  is  gratifying  to  find  that  in  one  most  noticeable  point 
not  only  are  buyers  insistent,  but  dealers  are  able  to  satisfy  the 
demand.  This  is  in  the  matter  of  "  quality,  "  and  it  may  be 
safely  said  that  in  this  possession  the  American  horse  of  to-day, 
of  all  breeds  and  for  all  purposes,  stands  far  in  advance  of 
his  confreres. 

"Quality,"  roughly  speaking,  is  individuality:  a  high 
order  of  physical  and  mental  development;  an  external 
harmony  and  delicacy  of  outline  corresponding  to  the  nervous 
personality,  accompanied  always  by  good  breeding  (of  its 
kind,  whether  thoroughbred  or  cart  horse),  and  signalised 
by  a  mysterious  something  which  no  one  yet  has  ever  been 
able  to  define — an  essence  as  impressive  as  it  is  impalpable. 
"Quality"  is  always  the  principal  ingredient  of  distinctive 
type,  thus  of  two  horses  exactly  alike  to  outward  seeming, 
one  proves  a  typical  gig  horse,  the  other  is  never  so  acknowl- 
edged. Quality  it  is  which  brings  the  dollars,  and  it  is 
unquestionably  the  most  valuable  possession  of  the  animal; 
without  it  all  other  excellences  fail  of  highest  appreciation. 

Given  this  essential  (quality,  individuality,  nervous 
energy,  personal  magnetism,  fine  finish,  etc.),  the  next  typical 
requisite  is  action,  and  here  we  have  forsaken  the  level  plain 
of  common  sense  and  adaptability  for  the  realms  of  hysteria 
and  the  vagaries  of  the  hasheesh  victim.  Up  and  ever  up 
has  been  the  trend  of  required  action,  until  equine  con- 
tortionists lacking  every  quality  but  that  of  frantically  and 
foolishly  pawing  the  air  have  been  hailed  as  marvels;  mis- 
shapen, awkward,  unmanageable  beasts  that,  bar  this 
ability,  would  never  for  one  moment  have  received  encour- 

248 


TYPE   FOR   PURPOSE 

agement.  The  true,  all-round,  level  goer  has  been  set  aside 
for  years,  but  recent  developments  would  seem  to  show  that 
he  is  likely  to  come  into  his  own  at  last. 

Ridiculous  as  have  been  our  demands  in  action,  we  have 
proceeded  to  even  more  extraordinary  lengths  in  pace,  until 
nowadays  a  heavy  brougham  horse,  which  the  law  forbids  to 
progress  at  more  than  seven  miles  an  hour  in  city  or  park, 
must  "  step  away  "  and  show  an  ability  to  beat  a  three-minute 
gait,  and  to  pull  his  load  at  that  pace.  Any  one  who  buys 
something  he  does  not  need  and  cannot  use  is  generally  a 
laughing-stock,  but  the  fashionable  buyer  insists  upon  this 
ability  in  his  horse  as  though  he  were  some  light  and  nimble 
"  train-catcher  "  calculated  for  country  depot  work. 

Conformation  has  reached  a  point  where  it  is  allowed 
that  every  horse  must  carry  a  finely  cut  and  well-eared  head 
and  boldly  borne  neck;  that  his  "top-line"  must  be  good; 
his  ribs  well  sprung;  his  tail  set  in  high,  and  well  carried; 
his  quarters  deep  and  filling  his  breeching  well;  his  hips 
generally  round  (but  frequently  very  ragged,  and  his  loin 
slack  as  an  accompaniment) ;  and  one  often  finds  that  this 
satisfies  the  eye,  and  that  long  spindle,  crooked  legs,  splay  or 
contracted  or  "meaty  heeled"  feet,  and  action  villainously 
winding  and  untrue,  are  passed  over  and  eagerly  accepted, 
provided  those  members  are  hurled  about  at  random  alti- 
tudes, even  hurtling  through  the  air  in  a  manner  which  leads 
the  observer  to  expect  dissolution  of  the  equine  framework. 
Thick  or  thin,  leggy  or  not,  grotesque  or  graceful,  if  they 
can  "  step  and  go "  eager  competitors  are  found  for  their 
possession,  and  cheques  are  gladly  signed  in  exchange  for 
nearly  as  many  dollars  as  the  purchases  actually  possess 
faiilts  and  shortcomings. 

Type    should    be    appropriate,    not    only    to   the   size 

249 


DRIVING 

but  to  the  lines  of  the  vehicle  for  which  the  animal  is 
intended.  The  landau  pair  should  be  not  only  tall,  but  long 
in  proportion ;  rather  dipped  in  the  back ;  long-tailed,  or  docked 
and  wearing  a  long  switch  a  la  francaise;  graceful,  especially 
when  standing ;  deliberate  of  movement ;  and  these  character- 
istics must  attend  all  strictly  high-class  heavy-carriage  horses, 
as  those  for  broughams,  etc.  Victoria  horses  may  be 
smaller  in  every  way  and  more  active.  Phaeton  horses  are 
very  similar  to  those  for  victoria  use,  but  faster,  smarter, 
and  quicker-actioned.  The  hansom  and  the  runabout  horse 
must  have  speed  in  plenty,  and  as  much  all-round  action  as 
may  be;  the  hansom  horse,  of  course,  being  larger  (up  to 
15.3  or  so),  as  being  in  better  proportion,  although  many 
people  prefer  much  smaller  horses  for  this  vehicle.  The 
park  coach  horse  is,  for  a  wheeler,  a  carriage  horse  of  landau 
type;  for  leader,  a  phaeton  sort.  The  road-coacher  should 
be  sturdy,  thick,  well-moving  and  able  to  go  along,  and  the 
team  about  of  equal  size.  * 

In  a  general  way  the  outlines  are  the  same  for  all  heavy- 
harness  horses,  but  as  a  stately  poise  and  rather  leisurely 
movement  must  characterise  the  large  horse,  so,  as  the  scale 
descends  in  size  and  the  labour  lightens,  should  activity 
increase,  pace  accelerate,  and  snappy,  nervous  alertness 
displace  the  rather  phlegmatic  movement.  We  have  not  as 
yet  learned  to  appreciate  at  its  full  value  the  necessity  of  a 
dignified  character  in  our  larger  heavy -harness  horses,  and 
our  demands  upon  such  animals  for  speed  and  activity  are 
singularly  ill-judged. 

Naturally,  bodily  condition  has  much  to  do  with  present- 
ing that  roundness  of  contour  which  is  so  pleasing  to  the 
eye,  and  flesh,  like  charity,  covers  a  multitude  of  sins.  Car- 
riage horses  should  always  be  in  the  height  of  physical  con- 

250 


TYPE   FOR   PURPOSE 

dition,  that  not  only  may  the  bulk,  which  the  native  horse 
lacks,  be  exaggerated,  but  the  crests  kept  up  and  the 
forehands  and  quarters  made  to  appear  as  bold  in  the  one 
case  and  as  solid  in  the  other  as  possible.  That  we  have 
been  educated  by  the  horse  shows  to  accepting  an  over- 
fattened  beast  as  "conditioned"  is  true,  but  the  practice 
has  merits  in  that  Nature  arranges  a  better  contour  in 
the  fat  than  in  the  thin  horse. 

The  question  of  "height  for  purpose"  is  ever  a  burning 
one,  and  divers  indeed  are  the  opinions.  It  certainly  seems 
logical  that  the  animal  should  appear  and  should  be  able  to 
handle  his  load  easily — not  only  to  "look  the  part,"  but  to 
do  the  work.  Still  there  is  a  further  step  into  the  eternal 
fitness  of  things  which  we  might  all  take,  and  which  should 
impel  us  to  see  that  the  horse  not  only  harmonises  with  his 
tasks  and  equipment,  but  with  the  people  he  is  expected  to 
draw.  It  is  horribly  ill-done  to  turn  out  a  lady's  phaeton 
with  a  tall  horse  or  pair  at  which  she  must  peer  up,  and 
which  must  drive  cliimsily  from  the  fact  that  the  reins  have 
no  direct  tension.  It  certainly  looks  odd  to  behold  a  six- 
foot  man  driving  in  a  runabout  a  14.2  horse.  It  is  hardly 
in  line  to  meet  two  large  men  in  a  full-sized  gig  holding  the 
reins  over  a  14.3  horse — although  equines  of  that  size  have 
been  hailed  as  champion  gig  horses.  Surely  one  little  horse 
is  not  likely  to  pull  two  big  men  far  and  fast  and  up  and  down 
hill  in  either  runabout  or  gig — both  strictly  utility  vehicles 
for  long  journeys;  and  while  he  may  as  an  individual  perform 
the  feat,  that  does  not  affect  the  question  in  the  abstract  as  to 
whether  14.3  or  so  is  the  "height  for  type"  for  such  work, 
any  more  than  that  the  docility  of  a  big  phlegmatic  pair 
before  the  lady's  phaeton  makes  them  desirable  as  typical 
phaeton  horses. 

251 


DRIVING 

Our  native  mechanics  have  nowadays  attained  such 
marvellous  proficiency  in  lightening  the  weights  of  all  car- 
riages while  maintaining  their  lines  and  general  effect  that 
there  exists  no  longer  any  need  for  the  bulk  before  the  vehicle 
which  of  yore  was  demanded.  Good  and  improving  roads 
everywhere  also  lend  their  aid  to  this  result;  still  these 
facts  hardly  allow  us  in  proportion  to  claim  that  lighter 
animals  are  in  good  form,  since  that  is  hardly  the  case;  the 
truth  being  that,  once  overbalanced  and  overweighted,  our 
horses  are  now  asstiming  due  proportion  to  their  vehicles 
and  trappings. 


«s« 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

BREEDING    THE    CARRIAGE    HORSE 

A  YOUNG  farmer  who  was  about  to  embark  in  the  breeding 
of  trotters  wrote  to  an  old  and  experienced  friend  asking  him 
what  was  the  best  way  to  go  about  it,  and  the  answer  is 
worth  quoting.  "  Dear  Sir,"  it  ran.  "  The  best  way  to  breed 
trotters  is  to  let  somebody  else  breed  them."  The  same 
advice  would  apply  with  equal  strength  to  the  undertaking 
of  a  similar  task  in  connection  with  any  other  horse,  and  it 
is  emphatically  a  matter  only  for  the  young,  enthusiastic 
and  persevering  to  enter  upon.  We  are  not  all  so  sanguine  as 
the  ancient  Yorkshireman  (of  eighty-five  years)  who  growled 
to  a  friend:  "Ay,  mon,  theer's  nobbut  a  odd  'unter  or  two  to 
find  these  days.  Ah'll  away  an'  breed  a  few";  and  so  many 
disappointments  beset  the  novice  that,  as  a  usual  thing,  his 
patience  is  not  long-lived  enough  to  outlast  the  chagrin 
which  the  disappointing  results  of  his  first  crop  or  two  entail. 
Again,  we  all  are  prone  to  be  saddled  with  a  fad  for  some 
special  bloodlines  and  some  pet  combinations  of  pedigree 
which  have,  in  carriage-horse  breeding  at  least,  little  or  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  case  at  issue ;  or  we  engage  some  professional, 
or  listen  to  some  amateur  adviser  similarly  handicapped, 
governed  in  the  one  case  possibly  by  the  hope  of  pecuniary 
profit  and  in  the  other  by  the  same  false  gods  which  the  tyro 
himself  worships. 

If  we  will  take  the  advice  given  at  the  head  of  this 
chapter  and  "let  somebody  else  breed  them,"  picking  up 
at  various  ages  from  yearlings  up  to  four-year-olds  what  of 

253 


DRIVING 

their  products  are  suitable  for  our  purposes,  we  shall  certainly 
attain  our  ends  more  quickly,  more  sensibly,  and  probably 
much  more  cheaply;  more  quickly,  because  we  are  saved 
the  delay  of  waiting  to  collect  a  stud,  breed  them,  and  raise 
the  produce;  more  sensibly,  because  we  shall  attain  the 
maximum  of  result  with  the  minimum  of  outlay ;  more  cheaply, 
because  we  thus  save  from  two  to  five  years,  and  because  we 
have  no  barren  mares  to  keep,  few  accidents  to  face,  and  no 
failures  to  record  of  young  things  growing  every  way  but  the 
right  one,  and  developing  all  the  faults  and  none  of  the  merits 
possible  to  their  kind.  Thus  one  quickly  enters  upon  the 
realisation  of  mishaps,  and  can  proceed  with  the  handling 
of  his  youngsters  forthwith,  being  able  to  market  them  and 
to  find  out  how  his  balance  stands  much  more  speedily  than 
in  any  other  way.  Nothing  is  more  certain  than  the  fact 
that,  whatever  you  thus  pay  for  your  colts,  you  do  not  return 
to  their  breeder  the  actual  expenses  of  raising  them  to  the 
age  they  have  attained,  and,  like  most  other  animals  that  are 
bred,  the  breeder  gets  all  the  worst  of  it,  save  in  those  excep- 
tional cases  where  the  odd  youngster  or  two  which  turns  out 
really  first  class  brings  enough  money  to  pay  for  various 
failures  recorded  against  his  fellow  infants.  Nothing  has 
made  more  havoc  among  the  farmers  of  the  country  than  the 
fact  that  occasionally  one  of  them  would  breed  a  fast  horse 
which  sold  for  a  big  price.  Forthwith  everything  in  that 
neighbourhood,  or  on  that  farm  anyway,  was  subordinated 
to  the  raising  of  whatever  kind  of  colt  had  thus  made  a  hit, 
and  not  only  were  the  aged  and  the  cautious  overcome  by 
this  "  get-rich-quick-and-easy  "  demonstration,  but  the  youth 
of  the  vicinity  were  inoculated  with  a  love  for  fast  horses,  etc., 
which  kept  many  a  hand  out  of  the  cornfields  and  brought 
many  an  extra  lounger  to  adorn  the  cracker  barrels  in  the 

2.')4 


BREEDING    THE    CARRIAGE    HORSE 

store  at  the  "  Fotir  Comers."  Of  coiirse,  this  has  not  been 
the  way  with  the  carriage-horse  breeder,  because  no  one  but  a 
wealthy  man  with  a  fad  to  gratify  has  as  yet  essayed  the 
task  of  breeding  such  animals. 

The  invasion  of  the  wealthy  at  any  legitimately  agricul- 
tural pursuit  has  always  proved  a  serious  handicap  locally 
for  that  special  industry;  and  while  his  entry  into  it  has  in- 
variably awakened  an  era  of  false  values  and  an  enormous 
boom  in  prices,  his  defection,  once  the  fad  had  burnt  itself 
out,  was  as  surely  the  signal  for  as  unreasonable  a  depreciation, 
as  he  and  his  ilk  unloaded  their  failures  upon  a  market  which 
was  itself  feeble  and  in  embryo;  while  the  usual  appearance 
and  condition  of  the  animals  then  disposed  of  was  quite 
sufficient  in  itself  to  give  the  business  a  black  eye  and  to 
bring  it  into  general  contempt.  The  huge  prices  such  a 
fancier  always  paid  for  his  nucleus  of  breeding  animals  were 
also  never  of  any  special  value  to  the  breeders  and  farmers 
of  the  country,  for  the  reason  that  he  bought  through  middle- 
men, who  made  all  the  profit,  and  that  he  generally  dabbled 
partly  or  entirely  with  horses  from  foreign  countries,  so  that 
his  outlay  represented  just  so  much  money  withdrawn  from 
general  circulation  here.  Again,  his  advent  in  a  neighbour- 
hood created  false  values  upon  real  estate  and  raised  havoc 
in  the  local  labour  market,  as  none  of  the  resident  farmers 
could  afford  to  compete  with  him  in  wages  paid;  while  the 
"object-lessons"  which  he  tried  to  afford  them  as  to  "how 
to  do  things  "  awakened,  not  their  admiration  and  emulation, 
but  their  discontent  and  jealousy.  These  have  been  the 
almost  invariable  concomitants  of  the  rich  man's  venture 
into  breeding  and  farming,  and  his  departure  in  disgust  from 
the  field  had  another  harmful  element  in  it,  in  that  he  loudly 
bewailed  his  misfortunes  and  failures  and  thus  kept  others 

255 


DRIVING 

from  venturing  upon  an  undertaking  which  had  for  him,  after 
vast  outlay  of  money,  time,  and  intelHgence,  proven  so  dis- 
hearteningly  disappointing.  No  such  man  ever  blamed  him- 
self and  his  methods,  but  always  other  elements  over  which 
he  had  no  control.  Shorthorn  cattle,  Jerseys,  trotters,  race- 
horses, hackneys,  sheep,  dogs,  etc.,  all  passed  through  these 
periods  of  inflation  and  explosion,  and  each  and  every  one 
of  these  species  may  well  exclaim,  "  If  such  be  kindly,  deliver 
us  from  our  friends." 

Naturally  enough,  the  stallion  is  the  initial  factor  in  any 
such  enterprise — and  curiously  (yet  logically)  it  is  he  which 
almost  invariably  is  the  actual  cause  of  bringing  about  the 
dismal  failures  and  the  boundless  disgust  with  which  the 
records  of  breeding  are  crowded.  Just  what  kink  it  is  which 
induces  a  man  to  stick  to  some  special  stallion  through  thick 
and  thin  would  be  curious  to  find  out,  and  upon  no  point 
is  the  breeder  more  touchy.  You  may  insinuate  that  his 
mares  are  not  this  and  that  and  he  will  not  violently  object; 
you  may  find  fault  with  buildings,  fields,  feed,  handling — 
what  you  will — but  beware  how  you  for  a  moment  breathe 
a  syllable  derogatory  to  the  transcendant  merits  of  the  sire 
or  sires  he  has  selected  to  head  his  stud.  Possibly  he  will 
agree  that  his  mares  do  not  suit  or  "  nick "  with  the  horse, 
but  never  dare  murmur  that  that  paragon  does  not  suit  the 
mares  (nor  anything  else  outside  of  a  shorthorn  herd  or 
a  lobster  cannery !),  or  it  will  be  "you  and  me  to  the  mat" 
at  once.  This  notion  is  the  more  odd  inasmuch  as  the  stallion 
often  costs  no  more  than  some  of  the  mares,  if  as  much,  and 
frequently  has  nothing  on  earth  to  recommend  him  to 
his  owner  but  the  fact  that  he  is  his  personal  property  and 
individual  selection. 

Rationally,  the  stallion  should  be  the  very  last  animal 

256 


BREEDING   THE    CARRIAGE    HORSE 

that  the  breeder  should  acquire;  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
he  is  better  off  with  no  sire  at  all,  sending  his  mares  to  various 
horses  and  mating  individuals  according  to  their  respective 
merits  and  deficiencies.  Such  a  breeder  has  no  fad  to  gratify, 
and  can  look  at  a  stallion  with  the  cold  eye  and  hesitating 
admiration  of  the  man  who  does  not  own  him — and  no  better 
way  can  be  found  to  appraise  any  horse.  His  mares  are 
distributed  hither  and  yonder  if  suitable  stallions  are  not  ac 
hand,  and  they  can  be  kept  as  cheaply  by  other  breeders  as 
the  breeder  can  do  it  himself,  while  he  is  saved  all  the  bother 
and  cost  of  maintaining  his  sire  or  sires,  besides  running 
no  risk  with  him;  and  tying  up  no  money  in  him,  finds  the 
payment  of  outside  service  fees  not  as  expensive  as  keeping 
his  own  horse  at  home. 

Figure  this  out  and  prove  it.  Suppose  you  credit  your 
horse  with  $25  for  each  mare — which  is  as  much  as  the  sort 
of  horse  you  would  breed  to  would  command  anywhere.  If  you 
have  from  ten  to  twenty  mares  there  is  no  argument  possible, 
for  you  have  the  interest  on  cost,  insurance,  the  horses'  keep, 
shoeing,  etc.,  and  probably  a  special  man  to  charge  against 
the  $250 — $500  you  would  credit  him  with.  Keep  him  as 
cheaply  as  may  be,  it  can't  be  done  under  $800 — $1 ,000  per  an- 
num; and  at  that,  age  causes  depreciation,  while  his  risk  as 
a  perishable  commodity  is  great.  If  you  have  from  thirty  to 
fifty  mares  or  more  the  ratio  of  chance  is  all  against  his 
mating  well  with  at  best  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  of  them; 
and  against  him  must  reasonably  be  charged  the  failures  for 
which  he  is  sponsor. 

For  mares  nothing  better  can  be  found  than  the  trotting 
or  trotting-bred  (possessing  more  or  less  trotting  blood) 
mares  found  in  this  country.  These  should  all  be  of  a  size, 
shape,  and  colour  (unless  some  small  mare  is  known  to  "  breed 

257 


DRIVING 

big"),  and  enough  alike  for  any  two  to  make  a  presentable 
pair.  This  does  not,  of  course,  insure  similar  result  in  their 
offspring,  but  like  mint  in  a  julep  it  "does  no  harm,"  and 
tends  to  uniformity  of  type  in  the  produce.  The  average 
stud  contains  no  two  mares  the  least  alike  in  any  respect — 
and  as  results  in  products  are  similar,  why  may  not  the  reverse 
also  prove  true  ?  Mares  not  under  15.2,  with  good  heads  and 
necks,  even  if  shy  in  finish  elsewhere,  good  bone,  big  frames, 
well  ribbed  and  coupled,  hocks  under  them  and  sound,  good 
feet,  prompt,  active,  lively,  and  ambitious,  fair  to  good  all- 
round  action,  but  at  all  events  betraying  a  decided  tendency 
to  flex  the  hocks  well,  up-headed  and  bold-fronted,  carrying 
no  (or  very  little)  white,  and  from  families  that  run  good- 
sized  for  a  few  generations  back,  are  the  kind  to  stock  up 
with.  The  horse,  if  one  is  kept,  must  be  similar  to  them  in 
type  and  finish,  with  some  speed,  and  ambition  to  make 
more;  action  at  both  ends,  sound,  and  of  good  pose,  standing 
or  moving,  active,  true  in  motion,  prompt  and  quick — a 
masculine-looking  horse  (beware  the  feminine  horse  and  the 
masculine  mare).  The  more  speed  he  has  the  better,  but  he 
must  have  ambition  to  go  faster,  whatever  his  pace,  and  be 
**  all  horse  "  in  every  feature — a  "  he  horse  "  anyway  you  take 
him. 

The  animals  named  are,  of  course,  either  strictly  trotting 
bred  or  full  of  trotting  blood — two  very  different  terms. 
It  does  not  seem  worth  while  to  consider  any  other  animals 
for  the  purpose.  Imported  horses  have  been  failures  if  pure 
bred,  and  as  crosses,  far  from  advancing  the  transcendant 
merits  of  our  native  animal,  have  set  back  years  those  who 
have  patronised  them.  The  hackney  is  a  failure  so  far  as 
general  results  go.  We  have  bred  him  here  for  twenty  years 
or  more — and  where  is  he?     Certainly  not  visible  anywhere. 

258 


BREEDING    THE    CARRIAGE    HORSE 

The  French  coach  horse  has  given  us  a  few,  a  very  few, 
desirable  animals  for  heavy-carriage  work,  but  he  lacks  in 
pace  and  tends  in  the  half-bred  to  be  coarse;  nor  has  the 
French  trotter  done  much  better,  as  a  recent  disastrous 
experiment  conducted  in  Kentucky  by  a  wealthy  horse- 
fancier  has  proved.  The  other  coach  breeds  imported  have 
been  completely  lost  in  the  shuffle,  outbred  and  outlived. 
Whether  these  specimens  were  all  of  the  best  sorts  of  their 
respective  countries  we  do  not  surely  know,  but  at  all  events 
they  were  so  guaranteed  and  advertised.  The  Russians 
imported  have  proved  dull,  soft,  leggy,  flat-sided  brutes. 

After  all,  why  should  we  seek  extraneous  aid?  Or  what 
have  we  to  gain  from  it?  Allowing  that  our  native  type  of 
heavy-harness  horse  is  not  perfect,  neither  have  we  found 
any  other  so.  Admitting  that  he  is  not  the  type  foreigners 
fancy,  what  of  it  ?  The  English,  French,  Russian  and  Belgian 
horses  are  different,  and  allowed  to  thus  differentiate  unchal- 
lenged. Why  may  not  America  have  her  own  type,  and  why 
slavishly  try  to  pattern  ourselves  upon  others  in  any  way? 
The  American  trotting-bred  heavy-harness  horse  is  recognised 
already  throughout  the  world  as  the  best,  fastest,  gamest, 
handsomest  beast  of  his  kind  in  existence.  Let  us  restrict 
our  efforts  to  further  gilding  the  refined  gold  we  already  have. 


259 


i 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

DRIVING- TOURS 

We  know  our  Fifth  Avenue,  our  Piccadilly  or  Bois  de 
Boulogne  very  well — if  not  personally,  at  least  by  reputation ; 
California,  Florida  and  Maine  are  visited  as  casually  as  one 
would  pay  a  dinner  call,  but  the  intermediate  points,  known 
to  us  only  from  the  fleeting  glance  obtained  as  our  parlour 
car  whirls  along,  are  for  the  most  part  unexplored  regions, 
and  generally  destined  so  to  remain  so  far  as  we  are  concerned. 
Chance  may  occasionally  point  out  to  us  some  locality 
which  we  favour  with  our  patronage,  and  to  which  we  make 
infrequent  pilgrimages,  obtaining  by  degrees  through  casual 
meanderings  a  fairly  close  acquaintanceship  with  its  environ- 
ment ;  and  to  it  we  adhere  like  the  limpet  to  its  rock,  at  least 
for  a  time,  and  if  we  later  find  it  indorsed  by  the  world  of 
fashion,  our  sentiment  becomes  for  it  even  more  intense, 
and  one  regards  oneself  as  a  modem  Columbus  who  has 
discovered  a  strange  land  pronounced  by  others  who  test 
it  to  assay  Ai.  Far  too  many  of  the  country's  shekels  are 
diverted  to  foreign  pockets  by  the  craze  for  travel  abroad, 
and  one  can  put  one's  surplus  American  dollars  to  no  better 
use,  so  far  as  wholesome  pleasure  goes,  than  in  investigating 
at  close  range  the  multitudinous  attractions  of  his  native 
country,  inland  and  outland.  Thoroughly  to  delight  in  and 
enjoy  such  an  outing,  one  must  love  company,  and  find  the 
zest  of  his  meanderings  enhanced  by  the  interest  and  enthusi- 
asm of  one  or  more  friends  or  relatives  who  by  their  reflected 
pleasure  so  hugely  add  to  one's  own  satisfaction — by  this 

261 


DRIVING 

sympathy  so  greatly  lessen  the  consequences  of  the  various 
mishaps  which  travel  by  highway  and  byway  may  possibly 
entail.  Be  careful  in  your  choice  of  associates,  therefore,  if 
you  would  travel  joyously,  or  sooner  or  later  friction  will 
arise  and  the  outing  degenerate  into  a  miserable  scramble 
to  "  get  through  with  it"  quite  foreign  to  the  ideas  with  which 
you  embarked  upon  the  jaunt.  The  enduring  harmony  of  a 
large  party  is  in  inverse  ratio  to  its  size.  Two  are  a  fairly 
large  crowd  at  times,  and  even  one's  wife  must  be  thoroughly 
en  rapport  with  the  undertaking,  if  the  family  only  is  included, 
to  render  the  trip  likely  to  result  satisfactorily. 

To  successfully  and  minutely  explore  a  country  in  early 
days  the  assistance  of  four-footed  animals  was  found  abso- 
lutely necessary :  nor  is  it  likely  that  two  wheels  or  four  were 
ever  found  competent  to  the  task.  In  latter-day  journeying 
by  road  the  same  truth  holds,  and  forthwith  the  bicycle  and 
automobile  are  put  out  of  count  and  dependence  must  be 
placed  upon  the  horse.  The  pedestrian,  singly  or  in  groups, 
and  possessed  of  good  health,  physical  ability  and  elastic 
youth,  finds  his  reward  in  wholesome  exercise  and  in  the 
economy  of  his  usually  solitary  journeying;  the  bicyclist, 
a  labouring  part  of  his  machine,  is  handicapped  by  inability 
to  transport  with  him  more  than  the  barest  requirements 
for  ordinary  decency,  and  he  also  must  be  hale  and  hearty. 
The  motorist  must  be  ever  near  his  base  of  supplies  for 
hardware  and  noisome  fuel  needful  to  maintain  headway 
on  his  "devil  wagon,"  and  to  him  only  the  beaten  paths 
are  open;  nor,  were  it  otherwise,  could  he  stay  his  flight  long 
enough  to  do  more  than  oil  a  bearing  or  repair  a  smash. 
His  stenchful  contraption  is  also  wholly  out  of  place  beside 
the  sylvan  stream  or  in  the  darkling  dell — and  perhaps  his 
sense  of  propriety  and  of  the  incongruous  forces  this  knowl- 

262 


DRIVING -TOURS 

edge  upon  him.  The  horse,  therefore,  is  the  thing,  and  by 
his  kindly  help  the  aged  and  infirm,  as  well  as  the  young 
and  agile,  may,  as  through  no  other  agency,  their  youth 
renew  by  the  means  of  driving  tours,  refresh  their  hearts  and 
expand  their  minds  in  lingering  travel  along  all  sorts  of 
unconsidered  roads,  "beginning  no  whither  and  leading  no 
whence"  through  many  delightful  days  which  shall  serve 
as  an  oasis  in  the  mind  forevermore. 

We  have  good  roads  nearly  everywhere  nowadays — 
and  for  this  many  thanks — not,  alas !  to  the  horse-owners 
of  the  community,  but  to  those  determined  bicycle  chaps 
who  would  not  be  denied,  but  stirred  up  council  and  legis- 
lature until  they  obtained  what  they  wanted  in  the  way  of 
at  least  fairly  decent  means  of  intercity  communication. 
Morasses  in  winter,  ash  heaps  in  summer,  our  coimtry 
roads,  only  a  few  years  back,  were  as  a  rule  horrible;  to-day 
they  are  more  than  "pretty  good,"  and  steadily  getting 
better.  For  another  boon  must  we  thank  these  "  Ixions  of 
the  wheel,  "  and  that  is  for  the  provision  of  decent  rest-houses 
and  country  hotels  which  their  patronage  brought  into 
being  and  maintained,  and  where  one  may  find  an  intelligent 
effort  made  to  render  the  traveller's  sojourn  comfortable. 

In  embarking  upon  a  driving  tour  it  has  always  seemed 
a  crying  shame  to  have  any  definite  plan  as  to  direction  or 
duration,  and  the  questions,  "  Where  are  you  going  ? "  "  When 
will  you  be  back  ? "  not  only  impertinent  but  in  the  nature  of 
an  insult  from  those  who  did  not  and  could  not  know  that 
upon  the  very  vagueness  of  these  particulars  depended  one 
of  the  chiefest  pleasures  of  the  undertaking.  Any  prosaic 
workaday  person  can  answer  such  questions  from  the  depths 
of  his  humdrum  throat,  but  we  who  go  a-yachting  by  land 
have  neither  leisure  nor  inclination  for  the  satisfaction  of 

263 


DRIVING 

such  hopelessly  vulgar  curiosity — and  therefore  the  Icy  Eye 
of  Intolerance  freezes  our  interlocutor  as  we  sally  leisurely 
forth,  as  irresponsible  as  a  summer  breeze,  as  care-free  as 
bits  of  thistledown.  Where  are  we  going  ?  "  Bless  you,  it  all 
depends'' — upon  what  lane  looks  attractive;  upon  whether 
those  hills  seem  worth  exploring;  upon  whether,  when 
half-way  to  the  mountains,  the  sea  does  not  set  up  in  our 
ears  and  hearts  its  siren  call,  and,  abandoning  all  provisional 
itinerary,  we  hasten  to  it.  When  are  we  coming  back  ?  "  Oh, 
any  old  time!" — to-night,  if  we  quarrel;  next  week,  if  it 
rains;  two  weeks,  if  we  feel  like  it;  four  weeks,  if  the  money 
holds  out.  "To  particularise  is  invidious,"  and  never  more 
so  than  now,  "when  all  the  world  is  young,  lad,"  and  care- 
free we  turn  our  faithful  horses'  heads  forth  to  the  homely 
pleasures,  the  romantic  scenes,  the  tender  associations,  the 
glorious  views,  the  joyous  hours  which  are  the  prerogative 
of  all  those  who  wisely  set  out  upon  such  adventurings. 

Too  large  a  party  will  necessitate  the  use  of  too  many 
horses  to  render  probable  the  likelihood  of  all  the  animals 
retaining  their  bodily  condition  throughout  an  extended 
trip.  They  will  go  lame,  and  shoulders  and  backs  will  chafe, 
while  fickle  appetites  will  account  for  the  failure  of  more 
than  one  to  endure  to  the  end ;  and  for  this  reason,  and  also 
because  the  load  is  excessive,  expeditions  with  four  or  more 
horses  in  coach  or  brake  are  usually  fraught  with  disaster. 
Two  or  four  people,  drawn  by  one  or  two  animals,  are  likely 
to  get  to  the  end  of  the  route,  but  the  size  of  the  party  is  best 
restricted  to  these  limits. 

All  travelling  necessaries  should  be  culled  and  reculled, 
and  it  is  amazing  how  much  one  can  do  without  in  transit  if  pre- 
cautions are  taken  to  forward  trunks,  etc.,  by  express  to  given 
points,  where  linen,  etc.,  may  be  replenished  and  refreshed. 

264 


DRIVING-TOURS 

A  narrow  flat  trunk  or  large  suit  case  or  two,  fitting 
under  the  seat  or  seats  of  the  vehicle,  will  accommodate  a 
lot  of  things  for  the  ^mall  party  of  adventurers,  and  the 
runabout  in  the  one  case  and  the  roomy  democrat  wagon 
in  the  other  afford  ample  space  for  various  impediments, 
and  are  most  comfortable  travelling  carriages  besides.  Rain- 
coats and  other  wraps  may  be  strapped  to  seat-backs,  or 
placed  under  or  upon  the  cushion,  or,  with  the  umbrellas  and 
parasols,  bound  upon  the  dasher;  while  the  horse  clothing, 
halters,  bandages,  etc.,  done  up  in  straps,  may  be  fastened 
to  the  back  of  the  seat  or  above  the  trunk;  and  the  road  kit 
of  wire,  wire-cutter,  hoof-pick,  cord,  grease,  wrench,  and 
various  sundries,  may  be  stowed  away  in  the  receptacle  for 
the  apron  under  the  seat.  Thus  provided,  our  voyagers  are 
prepared  for  any  incident  by  field  or  flood,  and  ready  for 
everything  that  comes. 

The  vehicle,  as  to  its  tires,  nuts,  parts,  etc.,  should  be 
thoroughly  overhauled  before  starting;  the  motive  power 
freshly  shod;  the  harness  comfortable  in  fit,  and  stripped  of 
everything  but  the  essentials,  with  open  bridles  (if  the 
animals  permit  them  safely),  or  with  widely  flaring  blinkers, 
that  heat  may  not  harm  nor  discomfort  annoy.  A  spare 
breast-collar  should  always  be  carried,  if  a  collar  is  worn,  to 
use  if  the  shoulders  chafe,  and  the  collar  itself  should  fit 
very  snugly  at  starting,  as  with  toil  neck  and  shoulders  are 
sure  to  shrink. 

Seasoned  horses  m  regular  work  should  be  procured,  of 
steady  character,  close-made,  active,  and  free  from  any 
habit  of  stumbling  or  hitting  knees  or  ankles,  for  if  these 
faults  are  evident  when  the  beast  is  working  lightly  they 
will  be  heavily  augmented  when  fatigue  intervenes.  A 
**  Yorkshire  boot "  or  two,  made  of  felting  and  tied  on  bv  a 

265 


DRIVING 

bit  of  cord,  should  be  at  hand,  for  a  weary  horse  may  begin  to 
hit  himself,  or  a  raised  clinch  in  a  foot  may  work  havoc  with 
the  opposite  leg  in  a  short  distance.  Ambitious,  free-going 
horses — even  hard-pullers — should  be  chosen,  for  they  will 
quiet  down  with  the  hard  work ;  but  your  sluggish  brute  will 
make  your  journey  a  torture  before  you  have  been  out  many 
days,  through  the  necessity  of  proceeding  at  a  snail's  pace  or 
of  urging  him  along. 

The  day's  drive  may  be  split  into  divisions  if  places  of 
interest  are  frequent  or  if  for  any  reason  that  method  seems 
best,  or  one  may  go  straight  through  to  his  destination  at 
one  effort.  The  early  morning  and  the  late  afternoon  are 
the  best  times  for  travel,  and  this  leaves  the  middle  of  the 
day  for  sightseeing.  From  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  may  be 
covered  in  the  early  period,  and  from  ten  to  fifteen  in  the 
later,  although  it  should  be  arranged  occasionally  that  a 
short  trip  of  ten  miles  or  so  may  constitute  the  day's  work, 
thus  giving  the  animals  a  short  day.  Once  started,  the  first 
mile  or  so  should  be  covered  at  a  moderate  pace,  but  after 
that  the  gait  should  be  fairly  brisk  to  within  a  mile  or  so  of 
the  journey's  end.  Nothing  fatigues  a  horse  more  than 
dawdling  aimlessly  along,  as  they  have  no  knowledge  of  ease 
and  food  at  the  end  to  sustain  them,  nor  of  where  the  halting- 
place  may  be.  Water  should  be  offered  at  every  opportunity 
along  the  way,  and  a  folding  canvas  bucket  takes  up  very  little 
room.  Do  not  stint  them  in  fluid,  unless  it  is  cold  spring 
water.  You  drink  what  you  desire  yourself,  and  iced  at 
that,  and  what  is  there  about  the  constitution  of  a  horse 
that  he  may  not  have  what  you  yourself  enjoy  under  similar 
conditions  of  hard  work. 

Arrived  at  your  destination,  do  not  fuss  about  your 
horses  and  annoy  them  with  superfluous  attentions.      They 

266 


DRIVING-TOURS 

will  be  cool  and  ready  to  put  away  if  you  have  come  the 
last  mile  or  two  as  you  should,  and  therefore  be  quick  about 
their  toilet  and  let  them  get  to  the  board  and  bed  for  which 
you  probably  have  a  personal  longing.  Wash  the  shoulders 
and  the  pad  place  down  in  cold  water;  sponge  down  and 
between  the  hind  legs  to  remove  grit  and  dust  and  prevent 
chafing;  wash  legs,  and  bandage  loosely  (for  drying,  not  for 
supporting  purposes);  straighten  the  hair  of  the  coats,  and 
put  them  away — the  whole  operation  not  taking  ten  minutes. 
Let  them  have  a  little  hay  to  pick  at,  and  a  reasonable 
amount  of  water — half -bucket  each — and  in  an  hour  water 
fully,  and  feed  if  the  time  for  it  has  com.e.  Never  mind 
the  complete  dressing  for  them  until  ready  to  journey  on 
afresh,  then  have  them  groomed  thoroughly.  See  that  the 
beds  are  dry  and  deep,  and  get  them  box -stalls,  if  you  can, 
at  any  cost.  Watch  the  appetite  closely,  and  tempt  them 
in  every  way  to  eat,  if  not  their  regular  daily  ration  of  hay 
and  oats,  then  an  equivalent  in  more  succulent  and  "  tasty  " 
material  of  other  sorts.  To  keep  them  going  through  a  trip 
of  several  weeks  is  a  good  test  of  your  natural  ability  as  a 
horseman,  and  will  task  not  only  your  knowledge  and  your 
foresight,  but  your  sympathy  and  common  sense. 

If  a  coach  or  brake  is  used  matters  become  more  compli- 
cated forthwith.  Hotels  that  will  accommodate  your  little 
party  of  from  two  to  four  will  not  take  in  a  large  and  preten- 
tious expedition  like  this,  with  several  servants,  etc.  Spare 
horses  must  go  along  or  be  sent  ahead,  and  if  a  four-in-hand 
is  to  be  driven  you  may  as  well  have  six  animals,  two  of  them 
drawing  a  light  baggage-wagon  turn  about  with  others, 
which  can  carry  much  of  the  heavier  luggage.  These  horses 
should  be  all  of  a  size,  that  they  may  work  anywhere  round 
the  team  and  be  driven  in  various  combinations   to   their 

267 


DRIVING 

personal  advantage.  Your  vehicle  should  be  fairly  light, 
and  a  brake  is  better  than  a  coach  for  this  reason,  and  because 
it  runs  easier  in  country  ruts,  turns  better,  and  in  overgrown 
roads  when  branches  swing  low  has  no  panels  to  scrape 
and  tarnish.  You  will  need  two  men  at  least  to  care  for  the 
horses,  one  with  the  brake  and  the  other  with  the  wagon, 
and  they  will  have  their  work  cut  out  at  the  halting-places, 
because  one  cannot  take  it  as  easily  with  four  on  the  road  as 
he  can  with  one  or  two,  for  the  reason  that  few  fours  will  walk 
well  together.  In  consequence,  the  animals  arrive  at  their 
destination  more  or  less  heated,  and  must  be  thoroughly 
cooled  out  by  walking  in  hand  until  ready  to  put  away; 
while  the  four  "sides"  of  harness  and  the  wagon  harness, 
besides  the  two  vehicles,  make  a  combination  quite  beyond 
the  experience  of  the  average  village  livery-stable,  and  need 
several  hours'  work  imder  expert  hands. 


268 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

ROAD-DRIVING   AND   APPOINTMENT 

Our  native  woods,  and  our  ingenuity  in  designing 
competently  and  constructing  skilfully,  has  afforded,  to  the 
latter-day  American,  vehicles  which  for  strength,  lightness, 
easy  draft,  roominess  in  proportion  to  size,  and  durability  are 
approached  nowhere  on  earth — a  wide  reputation;  and  of 
these  the  road-wagon  and  the  speeding  wagon  represent  the 
triumphs  of  the  builder's  art,  although  their  fragile  lines 
owe  their  enormous  durability  as  much  to  perfection  in 
metal  as  in  wood-working;  while  their  ease  of  draft  and  com- 
fort of  conveyance  is  due  to  the  rubber  tires  without  which 
few  high-class  vehicles  are  nowadays  complete.  The  accepted 
innovation  of  low  wheels  has  relegated  the  high  wheel  of  former 
days  to  a  position  of  "innocuous  desuetude,"  but  it  is  by  no 
means  certain  that  this  condition  of  affairs  is  sure  to  main- 
tain; and  in  fact  many  road-riders,  while  succtmibing  to  the 
fascination  of  the  rubber  tire,  have  proved  loyal  to  the  old- 
fashioned  wheel,  and  not  a  few  others  have  for  genuine  road 
work  returned  again  to  their  patronage  of  that  pattern.  It 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  low  wheel  has  its  drawbacks  in 
that  it  has  a  tendency  to  throw  the  mud  in  showers  from 
its  rapidly  revolving  periphery,  not  only  upon  the  occupants, 
but  also  upon  the  horses,  when  a  pair  is  driven;  and  all 
will  not  bear  this  incessant  pelting  with  equanimity.  The 
low  wheel,  from  its  small  circumference,  is  also  much  affected 
by  uneven  or  rutty  roads,  and  in  consequence  proves  very 
uncomfortable  to  any  one,  as  a  lady  companion  who  reclines 

269 


DRIVING 

against  the  back  support  and  thus  gets  the  full  effect  of  the 
jolting  and  wriggling.  Again,  many  of  the  low  wheels  are 
attached  to  the  spindle  by  complicated  arrangements  of  nuts, 
etc.,  and  while  these  are  properly  attended  to  in  city  stables 
or  in  one's  own  establishment,  the  usual  form  of  the  nut  and 
spindle  is,  while  needing  much  more  frequent  attention,  far 
less  liable  to  disorder  from  careless  or  incompetent  handling. 

The  side-bar  has  been  the  almost  universal  type  of 
spring  used,  but,  especially  in  the  cheaper  grade  of  road- 
wagons,  this  has  not  resulted  successfully  for  the  reason  that 
the  cheap  spring  is  gauged  to  the  full  capacity  of  the  wagon 
and  to  nothing  less,  and  that  consequently  a  full-seated 
wagon  rides  very  "stiff"  with  one  occupant;  nor  is  there, 
even  with  two,  that  easy  and  delightful  pliancy  characteristic 
of  the  end-spring  and  the  full  elliptic. 

Wagon  and  buggy  makers  have  generally  erred  in  that 
they  construct  their  vehicles  with  reference  only  to  the  man 
of  middle  or  ordinary  height,  making  them  most  uncom- 
fortable and  cramping  for  a  tall  person.  If  they  would 
build  the  bodies  a  little  longer,  and  so  arrange  the  foot-rest 
that  it  could  be  changed  to  two  or  three  different  lengths, 
they  would  accommodate  all  sizes  of  occupants;  nor  would 
this  arrangement  alter  materially  the  shape  of  the  vehicle 
or  add  to  its  cost,  as  the  extra  length  could  be  obtained  by 
a  trifling  lengthening  of  the  body,  raising  of  the  seat  and 
thickening  of  the  cushion.  As  it  is  to-day,  your  tall  man 
of  six  feet  or  more  must,  to  be  perfectly  at  ease,  order  a 
specially  made  wagon,  which  he  has  for  that  reason  difficulty, 
very  probably,  in  selling. 

It  has  become  the  fashion  at  many  horse  shows  to  award 
ribbons  to  roadsters  harnessed  to  "speeding  wagons,"  and 
to  accept  them  as  "  road- wagons, "  than  which  nothing  can 

270 


ROAD-WAGON ;  LOW  WHEELS 


1 


ONE-MAN  ROAD- WAGON;  LOW  WHEELS 


ROAD-DRIVING    AND    APPOINTMENT 

be  further  from  either  propriety  or  common  sense.  A  road- 
wagon  must  be  such  in  all  respects — ready  for  long  trips  or 
drives;  light  enough  for  ordinary  speeding;  roomy  enough 
for  its  occupant  and  his  traps;  and  strong  enough  to  endure 
unharmed  the  vicissitudes  of  travel  not  only  over  speedways 
and  park  roads,  but  over  such  highways  as  the  ordinary 
country  road-master  provides.  If  it  is  not  able  and  ample 
for  such  tasks  it  is  no  "  road  "-wagon,  call  it  what  you  will, 
and  one  would  hardly  care  to  drive  at  a  road  gait  a  "  speed 
wagon"  twenty  or  thirty  miles  even  if  he  could  by  so  doing 
acquire  it  for  his  own. 

Lightness  has  reached  its  useful  limit  in  these  vehicles, 
and  no  end  can  be  served  by  making  them  lighter,  nor,  indeed, 
so  light.  Fragility  and  the  danger-line  are  two  points  that 
constantly  approach,  and  as  some  of  us  weigh  250  pounds  or 
more,  these  absurdly  light  vehicles  are  not  only  dangerous, 
but  not  in  keeping  or  in  good  taste,  and  therefore  in  the 
matter  of  correct  appointment  to  be  carefully  supplanted. 

Nothing  is  gained  by  this  excessive  fragility  save  that 
some  dealer  can  say  that  he  has  built  one  of  some  such 
foolish  avoirdupois  as  forty  pounds  or  so  which  has  proved 
usable,  ignoring  the  fact  that  not  only  will  a  horse  pull  a 
wagon  of  greater  bulk  as  fast,  but  even  faster.  Again,  these 
extremely  light  wagons  are  very  difficult  of  repair  and  easily 
racked  to  pieces  or  broken  down  by  too  sharp  a  turn. 

Another  argument  against  the  very  light  wagon  is  that 
a  horse  at  speed  is  apt  to  take  too  hard  a  hold  of  one,  especially 
if  fresh  or  badly  balanced,  and  as  the  weight  must  then  come 
on  the  front  axle,  a  very  slight  swerve  will  suffice  to  turn 
you  over  unless  you  have  your  feet  against  the  axle  outside 
the  body,  which  is  both  awkward  and  hardly  allowable — ■ 
certainly  not  agreeable. 

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DRIVING 

Given  weight  in  moderation,  your  rough-gaited  horse 
at  once  goes  smoother;  your  knee-banger,  elbow-hitter, 
and  quarter-grabber  begins  to  clear  his  boots,  and  may  soon 
go  without  them;  your  hard-puller  finds  something  else  to 
lean  against  but  your  arms,  while  the  smooth-going  animal 
continues  to  show  that  characteristic  as  well  in  the  loo-pound 
wagon  as  he  did  in  the  sixty-pound.  Draft  is  so  perfect, 
friction  so  slight,  and  roads  so  excellent  nowadays  that 
nothing  is  to  be  gained  by  abnormal  lightness. 

The  appointments  appropriate  for  a  "road  rig"  (so 
called)  have  been  carried  to  more  ridiculous  lengths,  and  have 
promoted  more  acrimonious  discussion  and  more  hard  feeling 
than  those  for  any  other  variety  of  equipage.  Singularly 
enough,  this  bickering  was  never  over  the  real  essentials,  but 
over  the  absolutely  immaterial  accompaniments  with  which 
a  driver  saw  fit  to  cumber  himself  and  which  should  be  matters 
dependent  only  upon  his  own  needs  or  opinions;  which 
counted  in  judging  only  some  small  fraction  like  lo  per  cent., 
and  figured  in  actual  use  at  many  per  cent,  less  than  nothing, 
so  far  as  genuine  importance  went. 

Absurd  provisions  were  and  are  the  rule,  and  the 
elaborate  "kits"  contain  all  sorts  of  useless  things,  most 
expensively  made,  and  shamefacedly  produced  as  if  the  owner 
were  willing  to  apologise  for  being  so  silly  as  to  invest  in  them. 
Wheel  jacks  (for  an  eighty-pound  wagon),  halters,  shoes, 
nails,  flask,  etc.,  lugged  about  in  a  wagon  which  is 
never  ten  blocks  from  some  stable  or  blacksmith  shop,  savours 
of  the  inane;  while  in  one  year  the  robe  must  have  a  mono- 
gram on  its  middle  and  in  another  year  none;  alpine  hats 
and  box-cloth  coats  being  apparently  de  rtgueur  regardless  of 
weather  conditions,  yet  rain-coats  constituted  no  part  of  the 
essentials,  nor  did  tie-ropes ! 

272 


ROAD-DRIVING  AND   APPOINTMENT 

Everything  about  such  an  equipage  should  be  quiet  and 
in  keeping,  the  harness  fitting  accurately,  the  horse  good- 
looking  and  well  groomed.  Dark-coloured,  of  course,  as  to 
the  body,  the  shafts,  pole  and  undercarriage  or  "running- 
gear  "  of  the  wagon  may  be  lightly  striped  or  painted  in  other 
colours,  as  red,  green  or  yellow  picked  out  with  black,  a 
monogram  or  initial  being  placed  upon  the  seat-riser.  The 
top,  if  worn,  should  be  "full-up"  or  down;  the  side  curtains 
and  apron  imder  the  seat.  The  necessaries — cooler,  tie-rope, 
foot-pick,  scraper,  lamp,  rain-coat — should  be  neatly  arranged, 
and  the  lap-robe,  according  to  season,  either  in  use  or  folded 
and  hung  over  the  back  of  the  seat. 

The  harness  should  be  very  light,  black,  single  strap,  have 
horseshoe  buckles,  rubber,  gilt-lined  or  brass  mounts, 
single  keepers,  square  blinkers,  overdraw  fiat  check 
or  part  round  side  check  (loops  on  crown-pieces  and 
not  on  throat-latch),  or  no  check  as  preferred;  breast- 
collar,  with  martingale  loop;  traces  flat  or  (sometimes) 
round;  saddle,  with  small  housing  (generally);  breeching; 
crupper  (without  buckles);  fiat,  or  part  round  russet 
reins,  leather-covered  buckles.  Monogram  or  initials  neatest 
on  blinkers  only,  although  sometimes  placed  on  breast- 
collar,  on  pad  flaps,  and  on  hip  straps;  brow-band  may 
be  plain  or  fancy  leather.  For  pairs  the  same  general  ruling 
holds  good,  and  either  shaped  patent-leather  collars  and  hames 
(inside  terrets  on  straps)  or  breast-collars  are  used;  no  loin- 
straps;  housings,  or  none,  as  preferred;  checks,  etc.,  as  in 
single  work.  The  whip  should  be  plain  and  elegant;  straight, 
of  course;  the  lap-robes  plain  and  neat;  the  carpet  dark- 
coloured  and  harmonising  with  the  wagon  trim. 

A  road  horse  should  of  all  things  be  a  good,  prompt 
walker  and  a  free,  straight  driver ;  lacking  in  these  essentials, 

273 


DRIVING 

he  is  no  roadster,  even  though  he  be  as  beautiful  as  a  dream 
and  as  speedy  as  the  fastest.  Nothing  is  more  irritating 
than  a  plodding,  lumbering  walker ;  no  horse  is  more  regularly- 
overdriven.  He  shotild  carry  a  good,  natural  head  and  front; 
be  lively  and  active,  yet  "  biddable  " ;  back  freely  and  stand 
well ;  be  absolutely  fearless  of  all  objects,  road  along  cheerfully 
at  the  pace  required  without  needing  unusual  restraint  or 
urging ;  and  possess  a  nicely  pliant  mouth  which  would  enable 
his  driver  to  cut  a  perfect  "  figure  of  eight "  while  holding  the 
reins  in  one  hand  as  usually  held  by  a  road-driver — i.  e. ,  through 
the  full  hand,  the  off  rein  over  the  first  finger,  the  nigh  rein 
coming  through  from  outside  the  little  finger.  This  position 
of  the  reins,  with  attendant  play  of  the  forearm  and  wrist,  is 
best  adopted  by  any  one  who  would  perform  this  feat, 
even  when  driving  four  horses. 

A  roadster  must  also  be  level-headed  in  company,  and 
stick  to  his  gait  at  speed  without  unduly  pulling;  must  be 
"brushy" — i.  e.,  get  to  his  speed  quickly,  and  must  drive 
straight  and  "break"  straight — i.  e.,  must  not  plunge  side- 
ways when  he  "tips  over,"  as  many  horses  do,  and  which  is 
an  extremely  dangerous  failing  in  a  roadster,  calculated  to 
cause  not  only  a  collision,  but  even  to  turn  your  wagon  over 
if  you  chance  to  take  a  sharp  hold  of  him  at  the  same  moment. 
Too  tall  a  horse  is  not  desirable  as  being  out  of  keeping,  and 
also  probably  too  long-gaited  for  safety  at  speed.  About 
15.2  is  the  proper  limit,  and  from  that  down  to  fifteen  hands 
will  be  found  generally  best  liked. 

Of  all  the  difficulties  attendant  upon  buying  horses,  there  is 
nothing  to  touch  the  trouble  and  the  skill  required  to  perfectly 
mate  a  pair  of  road  horses,  and  the  prizes  offered  by  horse 
shows  for  such  classes  have  always  seemed  absurdly  dispro- 
portionate  to   the   time,    money,    and    knowledge    required 

274 


ROAD-DRIVING   AND   APPOINTMENT 

to  successfully  compete.  Heads,  necks,  bodies,  tails,  colour, 
dispositions,  action,  mouths,  manners;  speed  at  walk,  jog, 
full  flight  identical,  and  instantly  and  obediently  inter- 
changeable; ambition  to  help  and  yet  not  to  try  to  beat 
each  other.  It  is  doubtful  if  one  comes  upon  a  pair  perfect  in 
all  these  respects  twice  in  a  lifetime,  and  if  he  does  they  are 
usually  the  property  of  another,  and  unattainable  because 
the  owner  realises  what  a  treasure  he  has. 

The  heavy-harness  horse  is  easy  to  mate,  as  his  adjustable 
bitting  makes  very  differing  dispositions  identical;  docking 
makes  similarity  possible  among  even  the  originally  dis- 
similar; harmony  at  the  park  trot  is  good  enough,  and  cross- 
matched pairs  acceptable;  but  the  road-rider  must  seek  and 
seek  again  until  he  finds  two  that  fill  the  bill  as  described 
above;  and  yet  all  such  pairs  must  be  amenable  to  easy 
control  with  snaffle  bits,  and,  in  them,  always  mutually 
supporting  and  assisting  and  never  hampering  each  other  at 
every  pace  and  in  any  situation. 

The  least  objectionable  feature  of  dissimilarity  in  such 
a  pair  is  that  of  height,  as  the  discrepancy  is  generally  only 
noticeable  when  standing,  for  the  reason  that  they  are  not  as 
closely  coupled  as  heavy-harness  horses.  The  next  is  that 
of  gait,  whether  long  or  short,  since  so  long  as  they  both 
stride  alike  at  speed  the  difference  at  the  other  paces  is  not 
material.  The  next  is  colour,  although  shadings  of  the  same 
colour  are  not  objected  to.  The  essentials  are  mouths, 
manners,  courage  and  cleverness,  and  without  these  they 
are  no  pair  and  practically  worthless  for  the  purpose,  just  as 
really  as  is  any  other  horse,  such  acquirements  being 
actually  at  least  75  per  cent,  of  any  animal's  value,  instead 
of  the  low  value,  as  "  also  to  be  considered,"  which  the 
horse-show  prize-list  usually  imposes. 

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DRIVING 

The  matter  of  boots  and  booting  is  passed  over  because 
a  gentleman's  bona-fide  road  horse  neither  needs  any 
nor  is  allowed  to  wear  them  save  when,  in  actual  action, 
the  shin-,  ankle-  and  quarter-boots  of  safety  are  applied. 
American  ingenuity  is  as  unrivalled  in  the  contriving  of 
all  these  articles  as  it  has  been  in  the  evolution  of  the 
road-wagon;  but  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether,  by 
thus  rendering  profitable  and  possible  the  development 
of  thousands  of  malformed,  rough-gaited,  crooked,  star- 
gazing, flat-sided  brutes,  and  by  subsequently  using  them 
liberally  for  breeding  purposes  because,  thus  protected, 
strapped-up  and  buckled-down,  they  could  scramble  a  mile 
faster  than  others  possibly  in  every  way  their  superiors, 
we  have  not  dealt  the  American  trotter  a  body  blow  from 
which  we  are  yet  to  reap  punishment  in  his  deterioration 
as  a  perfect  animal;  and  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  any 
sort  of  high-class  roadsters  to-day  offers  strong  testimony 
to  that  effect. 


276 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

MATINEE     RACING    AND     ROAD-DRIVING 

The  amateur  driving-club  of  the  present  day  is  an 
institution  of  such  recent  development  that  it  is  little 
understood  by  the  majority  of  our  people.  The  trotter, 
than  which  we  have  nothing  more  truly  American,  has  never 
been  thoroughly  appreciated,  and  the  versatility  of  this 
wonderfully  adaptable  horse  is  just  beginning  to  be  under- 
stood. Amateur  driving,  from  the  time  of  our  forefathers 
until  recent  years,  has  always  meant  road-driving,  and  few 
men  have  ever  attempted  to  secure  enjoyment  from  their 
trotters  by  active  participation  in  track  contests  or  races. 
Up  to  within  a  few  years  there  have  been  no  organisations 
that  could  properly  be  called  amateur  driving-clubs,  and 
since  the  formation  of  these  clubs  they  have,  perhaps  naturally, 
been  confounded  with  race- track  organisations.  This  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  names  "Gentlemen's  Driving  Club," 
"The  Riding  and  Driving  Club"  and  the  like  have  for  years 
meant  associations  formed  for  giving  horse-races  for  profit, 
and  most  of  the  amateur  clubs  have  adopted  the  name 
"Gentlemen's  Driving  Club."  The  two  are  not  at  all  analo- 
gous except  that  at  both  meetings  horses  are  used  in  racing 
over  a  prepared  track.  In  one  case  the  racing  is  conducted 
for  profit,  while  in  the  other  it  is  purely  a  sport.  So-called 
"matinee  racing,"  meaning  racing  where  no  money  was 
at  stake,  has  been  in  favour  at  various  places  for  many 
years,  but  none  of  these  reunions  were  managed  by  properly 
chartered  amateur  driving-clubs,  and  few,  if  any,  had  any 

277 


DRIVING 

organisation  whatever.  The  first  geniiine  amateur  driving- 
club  was  started  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  1895.  That  city  had 
always  been  a  place  in  which  much  interest  was  taken  in  the 
light-harness  horse,  and  with  the  inroad  of  trolley  lines  and 
other  adjuncts  to  a  large  city,  which  did  away  with  environ- 
ments suitable  for  pleasure  driving,  those  interested  naturally 
turned  to  the  race-course  as  a  place  to  enjoy  a  fast  horse. 
Fortunately,  the  club  was  started  in  the  right  way,  by  the 
right  kind  of  people,  and  to  this  fact  can  be  attributed  its 
remarkable  success  and  its  growth  and  increased  importance 
each  year.  It  was  originated  by  a  number  of  the  best  men 
in  the  city,  all  horse-lovers.  They  all  took  an  active  personal 
interest,  and  there  being  no  lack  of  applications  for  mem- 
bership, and  being  careful  who  was  admitted,  the  tone  of 
the  organisation  was  kept  at  a  high  standard  and  its  spirit 
of  the  right  kind.  Since  the  incorporation  of  this  club 
others  have  been  promoted,  until  to-day  nearly  every  large 
city  has  one  of  like  character;  while  innumerable  smaller 
places  have  their  "matinee"  clubs  as  nearly  similar  as  the 
local  conditions  permit.  What  this  interest  has  grown  to 
be  is  hardly  yet  understood,  and  what  it  may  become  in 
the  future  is  hardly  conceivable. 

It  may  be  fairly  said  that  everybody  admires  a  horse,  and 
few,  indeed,  there  are  that  do  not  love  a  fast  horse.  All  kinds 
are  interesting,  but  none  offer  an  opportunity  for  such 
infatuation  as  that  horse  which  the  owner  himself  can  drive  and 
race  in  thrilling  contest  with  friend  and  neighbour.  The 
day  of  the  trotting-horse  has  come  and  the  "matinee  club'* 
is  responsible  for  it.  As  an  explanation  of  what  these  clubs 
are  and  may  be,  it  would  be  proper  to  describe  the  Gentle- 
men's Driving  Club  of  Cleveland.  Composed  of  about  150 
of  the  most  prominent   business  men  of  the  city,  perhaps 

278 


MATINEE    RACING    AND    ROAD-DRIVING 

fifty  of  them  are  what  might  be  termed  active  members — 
that  is,  members  who  drive  at  the  "  matinees."  A  "  matinee," 
to  which  the  pubHc  is  invited,  is  held  every  Saturday  afternoon 
through  the  simimer.  A  regular  programme  is  furnished, 
and  music  also.  None  but  members  and  members'  horses, 
however,  are  permitted  to  take  part.  Everything  is  done  to 
rule,  regtdar  judges  and  timers  being  appointed.  The 
horses  are  classed  by  a  committee,  not  by  their  records,  but 
by  their  known  ability,  which  insures  all  having  a  chance  to 
win,  and  also  assures  close  contests.  The  racing  is  all  done 
to  road- wagons,  and  an  afternoon's  fun  consists  of  from  eight 
to  ten  events  with  from  two  to  eight  starters  in  each.  The 
average  attendance  is  fully  2,000,  and  of  these  it  is  fair  to 
say  two-thirds  are  women.  It  is  not  a  rare  thing  on  special 
days  to  have  the  attendance  run  up  to  6,000  or  7,000.  There 
is  no  money  at  stake  in  any  way  at  these  matinees,  and  the 
club  is  supported  entirely  by  dues  from  its  members.  They 
race  for  honour  and  ribbons  alone,  with  sometimes  a  cup. 

In  1899  the  club  at  Boston,  in  order  to  stimulate  this 
kind  of  sport,  offered  a  $1,000  cup  called  the  Amateur  Drivers' 
Challenge  Trophy,  which  was  to  be  trotted  for  each  year,  and 
was  open  for  competition  to  any  member  of  any  recognised 
driving-club,  providing,  of  course,  he  was  an  amateur.  This 
intercity  racing  brought  to  light  the  fact  that  organisation 
was  necessary,  and  it  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  League 
of  Amateur  Driving  Clubs,  whose  membership  is  at  present 
composed  of  the  very  lively  and  healthy  clubs  of  Boston, 
New  York,  Syracuse,  Pittsburg,  Columbus,  Chicago,  Memphis, 
Buffalo  and  Cleveland.  The  League  formulated  rules  govern- 
ing intercity  racing,  and  was  directly  responsible  for  legislation 
on  behalf  of  the  amateurs  by  the  National  and  American 
Trotting   Associations,  whereby  amateurs   are   permitted  to 

279 


DRIVING 

race  their  horses  at  open  matinees  without  incurring  the 
penalty  of  bar  or  record. 

The  interest  in  amateur  racing  to  wagon  developed  so 
quickly  that  a  number  of  the  trotting  associations  began 
offering  inducements  in  way  of  cups  to  the  amateurs  to  com- 
pete at  their  meetings.  Charter  Oak  Park,  Hartford,  was 
the  pioneer  in  this,  and  the  New  York  State  Fair  Association 
has  for  several  years  given  much  attention  to  the  amateur 
end  of  the  sport  of  trotting.  A  number  of  other  associations 
have  taken  it  up,  and  to-day  there  are  many  opportunities 
offered  the  amateur  to  compete  with  his  trotters  at  public 
meetings  for  plate  or  other  trophies. 

Prediction  was  rife  at  the  starting  of  the  Cleveland  Club 
that  it  would  be  short-lived.  It  was  not  thought  that  men 
would  long  race  their  horses  for  fun  and  accept  frequent  defeat 
without  internal  dissensions  arising  that  would  disrupt  the 
organisation.  Happily  this  has  not  been  the  case,  and  it  is 
indeed  remarkable  how  little  friction  has  occurred.  Experi- 
ence has  taught  that  the  success  of  this  sport  lies  in  the 
character  of  the  members  composing  a  club.  They  must  be 
gentlemen  in  all  that  the  name  implies;  they  must  be  good 
sportsmen,  willing  to  concede  defeat  and  at  least  simulate 
cheerfulness  over  it,  as  well  as  to  accept  victory  with  becoming 
modesty.  Their  meetings  must  be  conducted  to  rule,  and 
kept  clean  and  free  from  all  that  leans  toward  rowdyism,  and 
so  pleasant  that  the  nicest  women  can  attend  and  not 
encounter  anything  which  might  shock  their  sensibilities. 
It  is  true  that  when  any  sport  is  taken  up  or  patronised  by 
good  women  it  at  once  becomes  an  assured  success.  There 
should  be  no  partiality  shown  to  any  member  or  to  any  horse ; 
of  all  things,  avoid  the  forming  of  cliques.  All  should  be 
made  to  feel  that  their  interests  are  being  fairly  cared  for. 

280 


MATINEE    RACING    AND    ROAD-DRIVING 

The  race  committee  should,  in  making  up  their  programme 
each  week,  class  the  horses  as  near  together  as  possible  in 
respect  to  their  speed.  No  attention  need  be  paid  to  a  horse's 
record,  but  if  he  proves  to  be  in  too  fast  a  class,  or  vice  versa, 
drop  him  down  or  move  him  up  the  next  matinee  so  that  in 
the  end  all  may  have  had  as  fair  a  chance  as  possible. 

To  the  individual  member  it  is  perhaps  not  necessary 
to  say,  at  all  times  control  your  temper,  and  carefully 
guard  your  tongue,  that  you  do  not  say  something  you 
may  be  sorry  for  afterward.  No  sport  admits  of  so 
much  difference  of  opinion  or  opportunitv  for  wrong 
judgment  as  this;  it  produces  excitement  perhaps  more 
continuously  than  any  other,  and,  realising  this,  one  is 
wise  to  keep  oneself  well  in  hand.  A  man  who  will  not  or 
cannot  control  himself  has  no  business  to  drive  or  attempt  to 
direct  the  movements  of  so  intelligent  an  animal  as  a  horse. 
It  is  human  nature  for  a  man  to  love  his  horse,  often  with  an 
affection  of  the  kind  bestowed  upon  his  family;  he  resents  a 
criticism  of  his  favourite,  and  the  sting  of  defeat  is  bitter. 
It  takes  good  men,  broad  men,  kind  men,  or,  to  sum  it  up, 
good  sportsmen,  to  meet  these  conditions;  but  the  education 
so  received  is,  if  taken  properly,  invaluable.  Of  all  things, 
don't  forget  always  to  drive  fairly.  The  day  of  trickery  and 
sharp  practices,  born  of  contests  on  open  roads,  where  no  rule 
applies,  has  passed,  and  nothing  is  more  reprehensible  than 
these  cheap  ways  of  taking  advantage  of  a  contestant.  On 
the  track  and  in  these  matijiee  events  one  must  drive  to  rule; 
so  avoid  fouls  and  drive  fair.  The  rules  make  no  distinction 
between  a  foul  drive  made  unintentionally  as  against  the 
deliberate  foul,  and  aside  from  the  meanness  of  it  there  is  the 
danger  offered  to  all.  Cutting  off,  carrying  out,  a  misuse  of 
the  whip,  jockeying  at  the  score,  and  general  abuse  of  the 

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DRIVING 

sport  should  not  only  be  severely  frowned  down,  but  punished 
also,  for  no  true  sportsman  understandingly  stoops  to  such 
misconduct.  Much  better  to  be  known  as  a  good  fellow  and 
fair  driver  than  as  the  most  skilful.  Don't  be  nervous  over 
an  anticipated  race ;  the  danger  is  at  a  minimum.  We  do 
things  every  day  of  our  lives  much  more  dangerous  with- 
out hesitation;  of  the  millions  who  have  driven  in  amateur 
racing,  no  man  was  ever  yet  killed ;  so  pass  by  at  once  the 
thought  of  danger:  there  is  really  none. 

The  anticipation  of  contest  tends  to  excite  the  nerves, 
but  with  practice  of  a  little  self-control  this  will  pass  away. 
Remember  at  the  beginning  that  not  only  is  your  pleasure  at 
stake  and  the  pleasure  of  your  fellow  members,  but  there  are 
perhaps  a  few  thousand  spectators  whose  afternoon's  enjoy- 
ment you  should  consider.  Be  alert  and  prompt;  get  your 
horse  ready  and  out  on  time;  keep  your  eye  on  the  judges; 
report  to  them  at  once  any  hitch  in  your  affairs;  be  ready 
at  the  score ;  do  the  best  you  can  to  secure  a  fair  start ;  drive 
a  fair  heat,  and  if  defeat  be  your  portion,  smile  and  try  at 
least  to  be  happy  in  the  cheering  thought  that  other  days  are 
coming  and  that  the  full  cup  of  joyousness  will  one  day  be 
held  to  your  lips. 

To  attempt  to  advise  what  kind  of  a  horse  one  wants 
for  matinee  racing  would  be  almost  as  difficult  as  to  say  how 
that  horse  should  be  rigged  or  driven.  People  differ  as  much 
as  horses,  and  what  suits  one  is  far  from  pleasing  to  another. 
A  beginner,  however,  should  never  purchase  a  sluggish 
horse ;  no  more  should  he  select  a  highly  nervous  one  inclined 
to  break.  Of  the  two,  the  sluggish  horse  is  the  most  difficult 
to  get  results  from,  and  it  takes  an  expert  to  get  his  best. 
The  beginner,  in  his  overzealousness  and  lack  of  experience, 
does  too  much  driving,  and  ere  long  the  horse  has  lost  confi- 

282 


THE   RUNNER   COLLARS    HIM 


AN    EASY   WIN 


A    CLOSE    t  IN  l.^li 


MATINEE  RACING   AND   ROAD-DRIVING 

dence,  and,  if  driven  at  top  speed,  will  break.  A  horse  that 
"  drives  himself,"  as  they  say,  is  the  best — that  is,  one  that  is 
free  without  being  rank ;  one  that  you  can  feel  is  giving  you 
his  best  efforts  always.  Then  there  is  but  to  sit  still  and 
guide  him.  He  must  of  all  things  be  inclined  to  stick  to  his 
gait,  and  if  he  has  these  qualities  it  matters  not  so  much  if 
he  be  handsome  or  well  bred.  Matinee  racing  is  not  so  severe 
on  horses  as  regular  racing.  The  scoring  is  at  a  minimum, 
the  fields  small,  and  the  races  short,  from  which  fact  horses 
often  worthless  for  racing  purposes  make  quite  successful 
matinee  horses.  They  may  not  be  quite  sound  enough  for  regu- 
lar racing — delicate  feeders,  and  even  bad  actors;  but  with 
the  short  racing,  small  fields  and  consequent  lack  of  scoring 
they  often  make  well-behaved  matinee  performers.  A  puller 
is  always  to  be  abhorred;  a  horse  that  goes  sideways  when 
he  breaks  is  too  dangerous  an  animal  to  be  used,  and  a  horse 
that  wears  hopples  should  never  be  permitted  on  a  track; 
he  is  a  menace  not  only  to  his  own  and  his  driver's  life,  but  to 
every  man  and  horse  that  starts  with  him.  For  size,  to  pull 
a  wagon  with  a  driver  of  average  weight,  a  horse  from  15.2 
to  15.3  is  the  ideal.  If  the  horse  is  rapid-gaited,  or  "pony- 
gaited,"  as  they  say,  it  is  a  good  thing;  high  hock  action  is 
not  objectionable;  but  a  horse  " duck-gaited "  behind — one 
whose  hind  legs  are  always  apparently  behindtime,  is  not 
desirable:  he  would  not  be  a  good  weight-puller,  would  be 
slow  to  start,  and  very  apt  to  hit  the  wagon  unless  hitched 
abnormally  far  from  it.  One  that  trots  with  his  legs  under 
him,  with  round  free  straight  action,  is  the  one  best  adapted 
to  pull  weight,  to  start  quick,  and  to  trot  with  fewest  boots. 
The  fewer  boots  a  horse  needs  the  better,  of  course,  but  while 
it  is  best  not  to  put  them  on  if  not  needed,  never  hesitate  to 
do  so  when  they  are.     The  ideal  matinee  horse,  or,  as  he  is 

283 


DRIVING 

sometimes  called,  "fun  horse,"  is  the  one  that  has  good 
manners,  is  kind  and  tractable,  and  has  the  least  possible 
inclination  to  change  his  gait,  but  that  sticks  to  his  trot  or 
pace — still  one  that  can,  should  he  happen  to  make  a  mistake, 
rectify  it  easily.  He  must  have  a  fine  mouth,  must  not  pull, 
and  must  carry  his  head  straight;  must  be  quick  to  get 
under  way;  not  nervous  at  the  score;  must  be  "brushy," 
and  yet  have  enough  stamina  to  last  out  at  least  three  heats 
at  his  limit  for  a  mile.  He  must  require  few  boots  and  no 
fancy  rigging,  and  he  should  be  a  horse  that  requires  little  work 
to  keep  him  on  edge.  Horses  differ  greatly  in  this.  Some 
need  a  great  deal  of  fast  work  and  require  a  number  of  heats 
in  warming-up  or  preparatory  work  before  they  are  able  to 
do  their  best.  Usually  such  a  horse  is  apt  to  be  unsteady  if 
hurried  before  he  is  thoroughly  warmed  up.  A  horse  that 
carries  his  head  to  one  side  (and  it  is  a  very  common  fault) 
ninety-nine  times  in  a  hundred  will  carry  his  hindquarters 
to  the  opposite  side;  this  makes  him  go  short  with  the  hind 
leg  that  is  carried  in,  and  he  becomes  "foul-gaited,"  necessi- 
tating a  gaiting-pole,  side-strap,  neck-pole,  or  some  other 
contraption.  There  are  many  reasons  for  this  most  annoying 
fault.  To  begin  with,  in  trotting  the  turns,  especially  of  a 
half-mile  track,  the  horse  learns  to  lean  in  toward  the  pole, 
and  very  likely  acquires  the  habit  of  carrying  his  head  out, 
as  the  driver  is  compelled  to  continuously  pull  him  that  way 
in  order  to  keep  him  off  the  fence.  If  his  teeth  hurt  him 
or  his  mouth  or  jaw  is  sore  he  will  carry  his  head  sideways, 
pulling  most  on  the  bit  on  the  side  that  hurts.  If  he  is 
sore,  or  lame  in  back,  hip,  or  hind  leg,  he  will  favour  this  leg 
by  shortening  his  action ;  if  sore  or  lame  in  foreleg,  shoulder, 
or  foot,  he  will  carry  the  opposite  hind  leg  under  him  in  order 
to  relieve  the  concussion  on  the  tender  side  in  front.     This 

284 


MATINEE  RACING  AND   ROAD-DRIVING 

often  occurs  with  a  horse  that  apparently  jogs  sound;  but, 
when  put  to  speed,  the  weak  spot  is  made  manifest,  not  by 
nodding,  which  usually  indicates  lameness  forward,  but  by 
carrying  one  hind  foot  under  the  body,  going  short  with  it, 
and  in  this  way  taking  much  of  the  weight  and  jar  from  the 
one  that  hurts.  On  general  principles,  don't  look  with 
favour  on  a  horse  that  hits  his  elbows  when  at  speed;  the 
elbow  boot  is  the  meanest  one  of  all  mean  boots  to  adjust 
and  wear,  and  they  are  continually  breaking  and  coming 
loose.  The  least  objectionable  boot  is  the  shin-boot,  either 
forward  or  behind.  A  horse  that  hits  his  knees  and  arms 
hard  should  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion,  as  very  few  of 
them  can  be  used  to  any  advantage,  and  the  more  tired  they 
are  the  harder  they  hit,  generally  with  disastrous  results. 

The  training,  balancing,  booting  and  rigging  of  a  trot- 
ter is  essentially  work  for  a  professional,  and  yet  if  the 
amateur  would  study  and  take  an  active  interest  in  this 
science  as  well  as  in  the  driving  he  will  not  only  be  much 
more  successful  but  will  find  far  greater  amusement  in  his 
sport.  Those  who  have  never  paid  attention  to  this  side  of  the 
harness-horse  industry  have  no  conception  of  the  vast  amount 
to  be  learned  and  of  the  skill  and  intelligent  thought  that 
can  be  applied,  nor  appreciate  the  real  pleasure  affor.ded 
when  one  overcomes  some  fault,  weakness,  trick  or  vice, 
and  makes  a  good  horse  out  of  a  bad  one.  It  is  certainly  an 
art,  and  one  that  can  never  be  entirely  mastered.  To  attempt 
to  enumerate  the  things  that  may  be  done  to  help  balance  a 
horse  would  be  impossible.  A  large  book  could  be  written 
on  the  single  subject  of  shoeing  and  balancing  the  foot  and 
action.  Perhaps  one  of  the  most  important  things  is  to  have 
the  horse's  mouth  and  head  properly  rigged.  Much  may  be 
done  in  controlling  the  action  by  raising  and  lowering  the  head 

285 


DRIVING 

and  in  rigging  the  bits  and  headgear  so  the  horse  may  work 
straight.  Many  horses  have  the  mean  habit  of  putting  their 
tongues  over  the  bits,  which,  if  not  stopped,  usually  causes 
much  trouble.  It  is  a  fault  easily  remedied,  the  usual  method 
being  to  tie  the  tongue  with  strap  or  tape  around  the  lower 
jaw.  A  simple  and  effective  way  is  to  use  an  ordinary  rubber 
band  about  half  an  inch  wide;  this  being  hung  on  the  bar  of 
the  bit,  a  few  twists  are  taken  in  it  and  the  tongue  is  then 
pulled  through  it.  Care  should  be  taken  that  it  is  not  twisted 
tight  enough  to  impede  circulation,  and  yet  it  must  be  so 
tight  that  the  tongue  cannot  be  drawn  out  of  it.  This  gives 
the  horse  free  use  of  his  tongue,  but  he  cannot  draw  it  back 
far  enough  to  put  it  over  the  bits.  Some  horses  draw  their 
tongues  so  far  back  in  their  throats  that  they  choke;  resort 
must  then  be  had  to  tying  the  tongue  to  the  lower  jaw. 
It  is  wise  to  change  bits  and  head-rigging  once  in  a  while, 
as  in  this  way  the  horse  is  less  apt  to  acquire  some 
bad  habit. 

The  art  of  shoeing  a  trotter  is  one  that  nobody  can  thor- 
oughly master,  and  if  one  loves  an  abstruse  problem  let  him 
start  on  this  and  he  will  never  lack  material  for  thought 
and  argument.  The  only  danger  to  be  avoided  is  that  of 
becoming  a  crank,  and  no  subject  connected  with  horses 
breeds  more.  Certain  laws  and  rules  there  are  among  the 
fraternity,  but  they  are  all  subject  to  radical  change.  Weight 
and  its  distribution,  angle  of  foot,  length  of  toe,  height  of 
heels,  pattern  of  shoe  and  its  application,  offer  more  oppor- 
tunity for  intelligent  thought  and  experiment  than  anything 
connected  with  the  horse. 

As  in  training  and  handling,  so  in  rigging  and  hitching, 
no  fixed  rule  can  be  successfully  followed.  Horses,  like  indi- 
viduals, differ  so  materially  in  disposition,  gait,  conformation 

286 


MATINEE  RACING  AND   ROAD-DRIVING 

and  constitution,  that  what  is  just  right  for  one  is  all  wrong 
for  another. 

In  harnessing  to  speed-wagon  there  are  one  or  two  points 
well  to  remember.  First,  don't  fail  to  have  your  shaft-tugs 
well  elevated.  If  the  line  of  the  top  of  the  shafts  is  half-way 
between  the  point  of  shoulder  and  top  of  withers  they  are 
not  too  high.  This  is  not  the  orthodox  fashion  of  harnessing, 
but  in  this  case  you  are  preparing  your  horse  for  speeding,  and 
the  shoulder  action  of  the  horse,  if  the  shafts  are  low,  gives  a 
side-swinging  motion  to  the  shafts  that  will  make  the  wagon 
swerve  as  the  horse  extends  himself.  Have  him  far  enough 
away  to  insure  his  not  hitting  the  axle,  but  as  near  as 
can  be  without  this  danger.  In  a  wagon,  for  some  reason, 
the  breeching  is  apt  to  work  up  under  the  horse's  tail,  and 
this,  with  a  nervous  horse,  is  dangerous.  It  can  be  tied 
back  to  the  cross-bar,  or  one  can  use  a  thimble-strap  running 
from  the  shaft- tips  around  back  of  the  saddle.  If  these  are 
used,  don't  get  them  too  tight,  as  they  will  take  all  the  pull, 
which  may  result  in  breaking  your  backstrap. 

Perhaps,  all  things  considered,  where  feasible,  the  use 
of  a  harness  of  the  "  two-minute  "  pattern  is  advisable.  This 
harness  does  away  with  breast-collar  and  traces,  as  well  as 
with  hip-strap  and  breeching.  A  pair  of  thimbles  are  used 
that  are  slipped  over  the  tips  of  the  shafts;  from  these  a 
pair  of  straps  with  buckle  attachment  run  back  to  the 
saddle,  fastening  in  different  ways;  and  from  the  same  fasten- 
ing two  straps  run  back  to  the  whiffletree.  It  can  readily 
be  seen  that  these  straps  take  care  of  the  pull  both  ways. 
This  arrangement  has  its  objectionable  features,  and  some 
horses  do  not  seem  to  take  kindly  to  it.  It  can  obviously 
only  be  used  on  very  light  draught  vehicles,  and  is  only 
intended   for   track   work.     Its  unsightliness  should   bar   it 

287 


DRIVING 

from  the  road,  as  a  horse  looks  to  be  only  half  harnessed  when 
so  rigged.  Its  greatest  objection  is  found  in  using  it  on  a 
horse  that  pulls.  The  entire  strain  coming  on  the  saddle 
causes  sore  back,  sore  muscles  where  the  saddle  pinches, 
and  sometimes  soreness  over  the  loin,  causing  the  horse  to  go 
rough-gaited.  With  a  kind,  true-going  horse  for  track 
work  the  simplicity  of  this  manner  of  harnessing  recommends 
it,  particularly  as  it  eliminates  the  danger  attending  the 
breeching's  working  up  under  the  horse's  tail.  Few  horses 
perform  well  in  any  check  other  than  the  overcheck,  and 
obviously  so  when  one  stops  to  consider  the  fact  that 
practically  every  harness  horse  is  broken  with  this  check.  It 
is  easier  to  control  a  horse  with  it,  which  has  probably  caused 
its  universal  acceptance,  and  yet  there  are  very  many  horses 
that  would  perform  better  with  the  side  check  were  they 
once  broken  to  it.  A  light-mouthed  horse  or  one  that  likes 
his  head  free  should  do  better  in  a  side  check  when  once  used 
to  it,  and  it  certainly  looks  better,  as  a  horse  has  not  the 
straight  gooseneck  and  strained  position  of  the  head  as 
with  the  overdraw.  When  the  side  check  is  used  the  nose- 
strap  should  be  used  with  it.  Many  horses,  perhaps  the 
majority,  need  to  have  their  mouths  so  rigged  that  they 
cannot  open  them,  and  resort  is  then  had  to  a  chin-strap  or 
jaw-strap.  With  the  mouth  closed  the  driver  has  much 
more  control  of  his  horse,  the  bit  remaining  where  it  should 
be.  Every  horse  should  be  rigged  with  a  martingale,  not 
short,  but  such  as  to  prevent  him  from  throwing  his  head 
up  in  the  air  when  he  breaks.  When  he  does  this  you 
lose  much  of  your  control  of  him  and  he  is  apt  to  run  side- 
ways. A  horse  that  is  bad  in  this  way  should  also  wear  a 
halter,  the  strap  fastening  to  the  saddlegirth,  thus  prevent- 
ing his  throwing  his  head  up.     On  general  principles,  the 

288 


MATINEE    RACING  AND    ROAD-DRIVING 

simplest  rigging  you  can  get  your  horse  to  work  kindly  in 
is  the  best.  If  he  is  not  comfortable  he  will  not  do  his 
best.  Extremely  high  checking  is  an  abomination  and 
perhaps  never  necessary;  the  object  aimed  at  can  surely  be 
accomplished  in  some  other  way,  perhaps  by  shoeing  or 
weighting. 

If  you  drive  a  horse  that  pulls,  never  turn  him  around 
to  score  without  first  making  him  stop  and  let  go  of  the  bit. 
Then  turn  him  quietly,  and  don't  take  hold  of  him  until  you 
have  to.  Unless  he  is  a  very  sluggish  horse,  always  make  him 
stop  and  turn  on  a  walk.  Restrain  him  as  little  as  possible; 
a  steady  pull  soon  deadens  the  mouth  and  the  pull  becomes 
stronger.  Try  to  encourage  him  to  drive  on  a  light  rein,  and  to 
let  go  of  the  bit  as  often  as  possible  when  going  slow.  A  horse 
shotild  always  jog  on  a  slack  rein,  unless  he  is  sluggish  and  apt 
to  stumble.  With  a  sluggish  horse,  keep  him  always  up  on  the 
bit,  alive  to  its  feel,  and  turn  him  to  score  in  this  way.  If 
your  horse  is  a  little  inclined  to  break  at  the  start,  don't  hurry 
him.  Keep  him  on  a  trot  whatever  else  you  do,  even  if  the 
others  do  open  a  gap  on  you.  A  mile  is  a  long  way,  and  you 
have  a  better  chance  to  beat  your  opponents  coming  from 
behind  them,  after  you  have  your  horse  squared  away  and 
after  he  is  settled,  than  if  you  send  him  to  a  break  at  the 
start.  The  one  thing  perhaps  most  criticised  in  amateur 
racing  is  the  scoring.  There  always  will  be  criticism  of  scoring 
just  so  long  as  horses  score,  and  with  the  trotters  scoring  is  a 
necessity.  It  looks  simple  enough  to  the  average  layman  to 
bring  a  number  of  horses  to  the  wire  together  and  on  a  trot. 
With  the  professional  it  is  hard  enough,  but  Vv^ith  the  amateur 
it  is  harder  still,  owing  to  lack  of  experience.  Scoring  is  a 
good  deal  of  an  art,  and  some  seem  never  able  to  master  it, 
try  as  they  may.       Overanxiety  is  the  greatest  trouble,  and 

289 


DRIVING 

in  their  eagerness  to  get  away  well  some  turn  and  start  for 
the  wire  with  little  regard  for  the  position  of  others.  The 
problem  becomes  much  easier  if  each  man  watches  the  others 
carefully  and  all  turn  together  and  head  for  the  wire,  going 
slowly  at  first,  then  increasing  the  pace,  but  not  faster  than 
the  slowest  one  in  the  party  can  score.  A  little  exercising  of 
thought  and  effort  will  save  much  time  and  annoyance.  If 
you  have  a  "brushy"  horse,  easy  to  get  away,  you  can  turn 
nearer  the  wire  than  the  others,  joining  them  as  they  come 
to  you.  If  you  have  a  nervous  horse,  apt  to  act  badly  at  the 
score,  take  him  well  back,  turn  him  alone,  and  start  him  slowly. 
You  must  time  this,  however,  so  that  when  you  reach  the 
others  they  are  all  in  motion  and  headed  for  the  wire,  and  so 
that  you  will  not  have  to  pull  back  in  order  not  to  get  to  the 
wire  ahead.  Only  the  best-behaved  horses  will  permit  them- 
selves to  be  taken  back  and  started  again  quickly.  If  you 
have  a  "  brushy  "  horse,  one  that  has  speed  but  lacks  stam- 
ina, begin  slowly.  Let  the  rest  do  the  racing,  keeping  within 
striking  distance  as  your  judgment  directs,  and  save  all  you 
can  for  the  finish.  On  the  contrary,  if  your  horse  is  a  "  rater" 
— one  that  goes  all  the  way  about  alike— start  from  the  word 
"  Go, "  and  keep  him  at  it  as  well  as  possible.  Conditions 
vary  so  that  no  rule  can  be  always  correct,  and  here  is  where 
you  have  an  opportunity  to  use  your  judgment.  Above 
all  things,  keep  your  horse  on  a  trot,  study  it,  work  at  it,  and 
believe  that  when  you  acquire  the  ability  to  do  this  successfully 
you  have  made  of  yourself  a  good  driver.  Better  by  far  be 
beaten  again  and  again  and  know  your  horse  has  trotted 
steadily  than  to  win  once  in  a  while  and  have  him  con- 
tinually breaking.  A  horse  soon  learns  this  trick  and  finds 
that  by  doing  it  he  drops  out  of  the  race;  it  becomes  an  easy 
way  for  him  to  shirk  his  duty.     Practise  driving  with  a  light 

290 


MATINEE    RACING    AND    ROAD-DRIVING 

hand;  don't  pull  any  more  than  you  absolutely  have  to; 
handle  the  reins  gently;  consider  all  the  time  that  the  horse's 
mouth  is  flesh  and  blood ;  try  to  think  that  the  bit  is  in  your 
own  mouth,  and  handle  the  lines  accordingly. 

An  essential  thing  to  good  driving  that  can  come  only 
by  experience  and  careful  observation  is  rating  speed.  With 
the  modem  way  of  carrying  the  watch  in  the  hand  this 
becomes  comparatively  easy,  but  don't  rely  altogether  on 
the  watch.  Try  and  learn  to  discriminate  as  to  the  rate  of 
speed  you  are  going,  and  as  you  learn  it  you  will  win  many 
a  heat  that  would  otherwise  be  lost. 

Dash  races  or  short  races  will  never  be  popular  with  the 
matinee  driver  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  only  has  a  chance 
to  race  a  horse  once  a  week,  which  means  only  a  few  starts 
during  the  season,  and  he  is  not  getting  value  received. 
Nothing  less  than  races  of  mile  heats,  two  in  three,  will  suit 
him.  The  mile  seems  to  be  the  proper  distance  to  race  when 
a  horse  is  in  good  condition,  and  to  go  longer  races  means  a 
different  course  of  training  and  consequent  interference  with 
the  usual  routine. 

Innovations,  however,  such  as  team-racing,  trotter  or 
pacer  with  running  mate,  and  trotting  or  pacing  to  saddle, 
would  materially  help  to  make  matinee  racing  more  popular. 
For  the  first,  team-racing,  it  is  so  exceedingly  difficult  to  get 
two  horses  together  that  make  a  team  that  one  can  race  that 
the  attendant  expense  and  work  keep  people  from  it.  Matinee 
racing  is  expensive  sport  at  best,  and  comparatively  few  can 
afford  the  large  added  expense  that  one  incurs  when  he 
attempts  to  get  horses  together  to  race  as  a  team.  With 
two  dozen  horses  there  might  be  four  of  five  teams  arranged 
that  looked  well  and  worked  well  together  at  slow  speed, 
but  when  racing  is  attempted  the  probabilities  are  there 

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DRIVING 

would  not  be  one  good  team  among  them.  A  good  team, 
then,  means,  first,  careful  selection,  which  in  turn  may  mean 
a  year's  effort;  then  follows  training  together,  and  when  this 
long  task  is  completed  one  is  apt  to  find  that  he  has  not  a 
proper  team  after  all.  One  can  never  tell  by  observation 
nor  even  by  actual  trial  whether  two  horses  will  go  well 
together,  and  well-mated  horses  outside  of  looks  are  usually 
an  accident.  Very  often  after  one  or  two  trials  of  two  that 
seemingly  go  well  together,  one  of  them  will  suddenly  change 
his  manners ;  he  will  perhaps  begin  to  fret  or  pull,  or  go  rough, 
or  break  without  provocation.  Long  practice  may  overcome 
the  trouble,  but  the  probabilities  are  it  is  incurable.  A  few 
men  have  a  natural  skill  in  putting  horses  together  and  train- 
ing them  to  go  in  this  way.  Mr.  Frank  Work,  of  New  York, 
is  probably  the  greatest  exponent  of  this  we  have  ever  known. 
It  has,  however,  developed  in  him  after  years  of  patient  study 
and  active  effort.  He  has  not  always  tried  to  mate  his  horses 
in  looks  or  dispositions,  but  he  makes  them  alike  after  work- 
ing them.  His  famous  team,  Dick  Swiveler  and  Edward, 
drove  as  one  horse,  and  yet  when  he  purchased  them  none 
would  have  considered  they  would  have  ever  made  a  team. 
Belle  Hamlin,  Globe,  Justina  and  Honest  George  were  not 
at  all  alike,  and  the  team  Lynn  Bourbon  and  Bertie  Girl, 
that  hold  the  world's  record  over  a  half-mile  track  of 
2:16  1-4,  were  as  dissimilar  in  every  way  as  it  is  possible 
for  two  horses  to  be.  To  find  a  horse  that  will  trot  a 
fast  mile  hitched  with  running  mate  is  much  easier.  Almost 
any  horse  that  sticks  to  a  trot  well  will  do,  and  the  most 
difficult  part  of  this  is  to  find  a  runner  that  will  run 
kindly  and  that  is  strong  enough  to  pull  the  load.  It  is  an 
exciting  thing  to  watch  and  still  more  so  to  drive.  If  trotting 
and  pacing  to  saddle  could  be  revived  it  should  be  by  the 

292 


MATINEE    RACING   AND    ROAD-DRIVING 

amateur,  for  a  man  to  do  it  must  be  young  and  in  excellent 
physical  condition.  It  is  one  of  the  most  violent  exercises 
imaginable,  and  exhilarating  in  the  extreme.  A  horse  as 
well  as  the  rider  needs  to  be  trained  to  do  it,  as  it  brings  new 
muscles  into  active  play. 

No  law  can  be  fixed  for  conditioning  a  horse  for  matinee 
racing.  Some  need  a  great  deal  of  work,  some  little,  all  need 
slow  staying-up  work,  and  at  times  all  should  be  made  to 
brush.  Let  us  start  in  with  a  horse  that  has  been  roaded  and 
is  in  what  is  termed  ordinary  road  condition.  We  jog  him 
first  from  two  to  five  miles.  If  he  is  a  nervous,  washy 
horse,  the  two  miles  will  do,  but  if  phlegmatic  he  must  be 
jogged  longer,  the  idea  being  to  get  him  warmed  up  and  his 
bowels  emptied.  He  is  then  driven  a  mile  in  about  3:00, 
taken  in,  scraped,  and  repeated  in  same  time,  letting  him 
brush  a  short  way  at  the  finish,  but  well  within  himself. 
Every  alternate  day  he  will  be  worked  in  this  way,  gradually 
being  made  to  step  his  second  mile  faster,  until  he  begins  to 
harden  up  and  lose  some  of  his  flesh ;  then  the  rest  between 
work  should  be  made  longer  and  he  should  be  given  more 
miles  when  worked.  We  will  then  begin  to  work  the  horse 
twice  a  week,  once  three  easy  heats,  following  two  days  later 
with  a  longer  workout,  from  five  to  seven  heats,  according  to 
his  condition.  If  he  is  a  fast  horse  with  much  brush,  never 
allow  him  to  brush  any  fraction  of  a  mile  at  top  speed  until 
he  is  thoroughly  seasoned.  Such  a  horse  should  be  trained 
within  himself  all  the  time.  If  he  is  sluggish  and  without 
much  speed,  then  he  should  be  made  to  go  a  piece  of  each 
mile  at  his  extreme  limit,  as  in  this  way  he  will  make  speed. 
Never  forget  that  you  can  hurt  a  really  fast  horse  more  in 
driving  him  a  short  distance  at  extreme  speed  than  by 
driving  him  many  fast  miles  that  are  easy  for  him.     In  one 

293 


DRIVING 

case  you  injure  probably  permanently  some  muscle,  joint 
or  ligament,  while  in  the  other  you  simply  tire  him  and  he 
rests  out  of  it.  Few  horses  once  conditioned  need  much 
fast  work  between  their  races.  This  is  particularly  so  in  case 
of  matinee  racing  where  so  little  is  required  of  the  horse  as 
to  scoring  and  number  of  heats.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
majority  of  horses  are  overtrained,  and  it  is  surprising  how 
well  and  gamely  a  horse  will  race  with  little  or  no  training. 
The  danger  in  this,  of  course,  is  the  relapse  that  comes  after 
extreme  exertion  when  the  animal  is  not  prepared  for  it. 
The  greatest  danger  in  racing  a  horse  short  in  training  is 
exhaustion  of  the  respiratory  organs  and  nervous  system; 
he  will  rest  out  of  tired  muscles  and  weary  legs,  but  an  over- 
taxed heart  usually  means  permanent  injury. 

Too  much  care  and  attention  cannot  be  given  the  horse 
after  his  work.  The  "cooling-out"  process  should  be  a  slow 
one — i.  e.,  a  horse  should  be  made  to  cool  off  slowly.  This  is 
done  by  clothing  and  walking.  Remember  that  a  dry  coat 
of  hair  does  not  mean  a  cool  horse.  It  is  the  inside  of  the 
animal  that  must  be  brought  back  to  its  normal  condition, 
and  after  a  severe  race  or  work-out  this  will  take  a  couple  of 
hours,  with  the  attendant  use  of  lotions  for  body  and  legs 
and  with  bandaging  and  care  of  the  feet.  After  such  work 
a  horse  should  be  fed  a  hot  mash,  sometimes  with  a  portion 
of  cooked  oats  in  it  if  he  needs  the  extra  food. 

On  days  that  the  horse  is  not  worked  fast  he  should,  if 
possible,  be  jogged  on  the  road.  The  amount  needed  differs 
with  the  horse,  but  on  an  average  after  a  horse  has  been 
trained  to  do  his  best  it  is  not  wise  to  jog  him  too  much — 
perhaps  five  or  six  miles.  Early  in  the  season,  when  a  horse 
is  being  prepared  to  train  fast,  the  jog  work  should  be  longer. 
The  idea  of  jogging  a  horse  that  may  be  said  to  be  finished  in 

294 


MATINEE   RACING  AND   ROAD-DRIVING 

his  training  is  not  to  make  strength,  but  to  keep  him  in  con- 
dition, so  all  that  is  necessary  is  light  exercise.  On  the  con- 
trary, in  the  beginning  of  his  training  season  the  muscles 
and  legs  are  to  be  hardened  and  developed,  and  much  may 
be  done  by  each  day's  work,  whether  it  be  on  the  track  or 
road.  The  idea  should  always  be  to  keep  the  horse  in  good 
spirits  and  not  tired  from  overwork.  If  he  is  high-spirited 
and  hardy  he  will  need  a  little  dulling  down  to  help  to  make 
him  steady,  so  the  amount  of  slow  work  as  well  as  fast  that 
should  be  given  must  be  fixed  by  the  disposition,  constitution 
and  soundness  of  the  horse. 

It  is  strange  the  antipathy  some  people  have  for  the 
pacer,  and  the  objection  to  this  horse  is  mostly  prejudice 
born  of  the  dislike  our  forefathers  had  for  him.  Pacers 
have  always  been  cheaper  than  trotters,  and  in  the  old  road- 
driving  days  it  was  the  butcher,  baker  or  candlestick- 
maker  that  was  always  ready  with  his  old  pacer  to  "take  a 
fall"  out  of  some  of  his  richer  neighbours.  The  pacer  has 
been  the  poor  man's  horse,  and  this  very  fact  recommends 
him  for  matinee  work.  We  cannot  all  be  rich,  and  the  pacer 
offers  to  the  man  of  moderate  means  a  chance  to  have  a  fast 
horse  without  a  great  outlay  of  money.  He  is  superior  to 
the  trotter  in  other  ways;  he  needs  less  training,  less  skill  in 
handling,  fewer  boots,  and  is  less  liable  to  be  foul-gaited. 
He  starts  quicker  and  more  easily,  and  drives  straighter. 
The  principal  thing  to  be  careful  about  in  the  purchase  of  a 
pacer  is  to  learn  if  he  has  ever  worn  hopples.  If  he  has,  pass 
him  by,  for  there  is  not  one  chance  in  a  thousand  that,  having 
been  used  in  them,  he  will  ever  race  steadily  without  them. 

To  conclude  with,  if  you  would  thoroughly  enjoy  yoiu- 
horse,  take  time  to  learn  some  of  the  arts  that  go  to  make  him 
the  balanced,  smooth-going,  delightful  machine  he  should  be. 

295 


DRIVING 

With  a  light  heart,  a  cool  head  and  with  light  hands  you  will 
win  your  share  of  contests,  and  live  to  bless  the  day  you 
became  interested  in  the  most  interesting  horse  of  all,  the 
trotter. 


296 


CHAPTER  XXX 

BALANCING  AND  SHOEING  THE  ROADSTER 

idalancing  and  shoeing  the  road-horse  so  as  to  get  the 
best  results  in  the  way  of  squareness  of  gait,  evenness  of 
poise  and  steadiness  of  stride  are  arts  which,  while  demand- 
ing a  certain  amount  of  mechanical  ingenuity,  call  no  less 
imperatively  for  close  observation,  a  gift  for  separating  cause 
from  effect,  and  a  strong  infusion  of  plain  common  sense 
and  originality.  No  horse,  be  he  ever  so  speedy  either  for 
a  brush  or  "  for  the  length  of  the  road,"  is  a  gentleman's  road- 
horse  within  the  genteel  definition  of  the  phrase  if  he  needs 
many  and  obvious  or  intrusive  artificial  appliances  to  enable 
him  to  show  his  best  rate,  if  he  must  be  smothered  as  to  his 
legs  in  boots  to  prevent  serious  injury  to  them,  or  if  he  is  so 
badly  "hung  up"  naturally  that  he  cannot  be  properly 
balanced  by  simple  methods  which  will  enable  him  to  drive 
at  speed  without  pulling  on  the  reins.  Horses  are  seen  upon 
our  speedways  every  day  disfigured  with  all  sorts  of  curious 
bits,  poles,  straps,  checks,  boots,  toe-weights,  and  head,  body 
or  leg  gear  of  various  hideous  proportions;  but,  as  the  atti- 
tudes of  their  drivers  suggest,  such  brutes  are  not  roadsters 
at  all,  but  merely  grotesque  racing  machines — misshapen, 
crazy-headed  screws  that  have  no  possible  present  or  future 
value  at  their  avocation;  cast-offs  from  the  race-track  which, 
despite  its  omnivorous  qualities,  could  not  digest  them; 
a  source  of  astonishment  to  foreigners,  and  of  disgust  to 
natives. 

No  horse  is  worthy  the  name  of  roadster  which  does  not 

297 


DRIVING 

walk  cheerfully,  jog  freely  and  rapidly,  and  drive  at  speed 
without  hard  pulling,  after  the  first  few  strides  at  the  start 
when  the  changed  equilibrium  is  being  arranged  for.  Most 
fast  horses  take  a  sharp  hold  then,  but  as  the  trainers  say, 
"  When  you  get  the  word,  and  are  well  into  the  first  turn,  you 
can  throw  away  the  reins,"  sure  indication  of  perfect  balance, 
and  that  everything  is  just  to  the  equine  taste. 

Most  road-horses  are  graduates  from  the  trotting  track, 
or  at  all  events  from  the  trotting  sulky,  and  we  are  prone  to 
"  rig  "  them  for  work  before  the  four-wheeled  road- wagon  just 
about  as  they  were  when  we  saw  them  in  their  races,  regard- 
less of  the  fact  that  the  bona  fide  one-man  road-wagon  weighs 
more  and  draws  differently,  and  that  even  the  grotesque 
"matinee"  or  speeding  wagon  not  infrequently  makes  the 
change  felt.  Not  a  few  horses  will  go  with  an  easier  check 
on  the  road,  or  even  welcome  a  different  form  of  that  article, 
and  find  the  greater  resistance  of  the  road-wagon  a  help 
rather  than  a  hindrance,  particularly  if  they  have  been 
inclined  hitherto  to  be  rough-gaited ;  and  not  a  few  begin 
forthwith  to  go  cleaner  and  to  clear  their  boots,  finally 
dispensing  with  some  or  all  of  them.  The  manner  of  harness- 
ing the  sulky  and  the  matinee  wagon  are  similar,  and  horses 
are  tightly  cinched  up  and  shafts  carried  high  up  to  minimise 
shoulder  motion.  But  the  genuine  road-wagon  swings  rather 
looser;  nor  does  it  appear  that  for  the  short  dashes  of  the 
speedway  the  uncomfortable  and  odd-looking  speed  wagon 
has  any  compensating  merits. 

Boots  or  no  boots,  and  whatever  wagon,  etc.,  we  fancy, 
just  as  no  horse  is  a  roadster  that  pulls,  so  no  horse  pulls 
that  is  balanced ;  nor  if  he  requires  that  hard  hold  of  his  head 
to  find  and  retain  it  is  he  in  equilibrium  at  all.  Therefore, 
so  long  as  this  eventuates,  we  have  not  succeeded  in  finding 

298 


BALANCING  AND  SHOEING  THE  ROADSTER 

the  center  of  gravity  for  our  charge,  and  only  protracted 
experiment  with  bits,  checks,  shoes,  etc.,  will  discover  it. 
As  a  general  rule,  the  simpler  and  easier  the  bit  the  better 
will  it  suit  the  case,  and  the  principal  changes  come  about 
from  raising  or  lowering  the  head,  using  a  martingale  or  not 
as  required,  open  or  blind  bridle,  harness  fitting  just  so,  boots 
all  in  the  right  places,  pliable  and  neatly  fitted,  shoes  to  suit 
the  case;  and  lastly,  but  by  no  means  least,  no  ailing  feet  or 
limbs,  which  our  own  enthusiasm  may  overlook,  just  as  the 
abuse  of  some  previous  master  has  caused  them.  Teeth 
need  careful  attention  to  insure  that  sharp  edges  and  points 
are  not  working  their  meed  of  harm  by  continually  annoying 
and  paining  the  horse,  making  him  nervous,  fretful,  a  puller 
and  a  one-rein  lugger,  sometimes  to  a  dangerous  and  uncon- 
trollable extent. 

While  the  overdraw  check  does  not  suit  all  horses, 
Hiram  Woodruff  conferred  a  boon  indeed  upon  horse-trainers 
when  he  turned  that  standing  martingale  upside  down  for 
Kemble  Jackson's  benefit  that  fine  spring  morning  and  proved 
once  for  all  its  value.  It  is  marvellous  what  a  difference  a 
few  holes  either  way  in  this  arrangement  will  work  on  a  horse, 
and  he  who  first  united  to  it  the  chin-strap  completed  a 
combination  unequalled  for  the  purpose  intended.  The  side 
check,  loop  placed  high  on  the  crown-piece,  suits  many 
horses  better,  and  is  far  more  comfortable  for  road  work ;  but 
even  with  it  a  separate  check-bit  and  a  nose-  or  chin-strap 
should  almost  always  be  used.  It  makes  a  vast  difference, 
this  compulsory  closing  of  the  mouth  with  the  tongue  properly 
carried  in  place  under  the  bit,  and  were  it  always  applied  to 
the  colts  in  breaking,  many  a  tongue-lolling,  one-rein  driver 
would  never  have  acquired  his  trick. 

When  we  have  our  steed  harnessed  comfortably,  driving 

299 


DRIVING 

light  in  hand  and  at  all  paces,  and  suited  with  check  and  driv- 
ing bit  so  that  he  does  not  pull,  we  have  yet  to  boot  and  shoe 
him  properly.  Of  course,  he  must  be  protected  when  he  per- 
sists in  hitting  himself,  but  as  a  rule  he  will  get  along 
with  quarter-boots,  shin-boots,  and  possibly  scalpers.  Elbow 
boots,  those  most  annoying  of  all  the  contrivances  fur- 
nished by  ingenious  makers,  we  hope  his  changed  condition, 
possibly  lowered  head  and  greater  weight  to  handle  will 
render  unnecessary;  but  if  they  must  be  worn,  you  are  sure 
to  lose  many  a  brush  and  to  go  through  many  annoying 
experiences  from  their  inopportune  fractures.  Quarter-boots 
are  always  a  safeguard,  and  so  are  shin -boots,  but  the  knee- 
knocker  is  usually  as  unsatisfactory  as  the  elbow-hitter;  nor 
is  the  average  private  or  livery-stable  groom  likely  to  know 
how  to  apply  all  these  arrangements,  nor  to  attend  to  it  if 
he  does  unless  well  tipped ;  while  the  cost  per  annum  of  renew- 
ing and  replenishing  such  an  animal's  paraphernalia  often 
runs  to  considerable  proportions.  As  between  the  extremely 
fast  horse,  freely  booted  as  to  his  legs,  and  the  fairly  rapid 
but  clean-gaited  animal,  there  is,  to  the  writer's  mind,  no 
comparison;  for  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  the  swift 
will  be  reduced  to  the  rate  of  the  slower  if  he  gets  enough 
(which  means  too  much)  brushing ;  and  that  when  this  period 
arrives  he  has  no  advantage  in  any  point  over  his  more 
enduring,  because  not  so  severely  tried,  confrere  ;  nor  will  his 
infirmities  decrease  with  age.  Nor  is  a  horse  which  forges, 
cross-fires  or  scalps  when  jogging,  however  clean  he  goes  at 
speed,  fit  for  a  roadster  at  all.  Nor  will  we  be  able  to  balance 
him  as  lightly  as  if  he  had  not  this  fault,  since  the  scalpers, 
if  worn,  weigh  something,  and  must  be  compensated  for  by  a 
little  extra  metal  in  the  fore  shoes.  The  so-called  "  Memphis 
shoe,"  having  two   bars   across   its   ground    surface,  is  said 

300 


BALANCING   AND   SHOEING   THE    ROADSTER 

to  work  wonders  with  various  double-gaited  horses  and  those 
that  need  to  "break  over"  squarely  and  quickly,  but,  what- 
ever its  merits,  a  square-toed  shoe  is  generally  quite  as 
generally  useful,  and  particularly  for  forgers  and  scalpers, 
the  toe  itself  being  left  to  project,  and  just  rounded  on  the 
edge.  Rough-gaited  horses  are  also  much  helped  by  this 
style  of  footgear,  which  starts  that  member  on  the  move 
from  a  level  tread  and  a  true  "break-over,"  the  new  square 
toe  being  always  sharply  bevelled  in  imitation  of  the 
worn  shoe. 

The  horse  of  excessive  knee-action  is  generally  much 
helped  by  the  "Memphis  shoes"  or  by  a  shoe  arranged  to 
break  over  quickly  from  a  light  and  long  toe-calk  set  well 
back  and  reenforced  by  heel-calks.  Not  a  few  such  have 
narrow  quarters  and  tender  low  heels.  Such  feet  will  always 
give  much  trouble  and  some  of  the  many  forms  of  rubber  or 
leather  pads  are  generally  useful;  or  bar  shoes;  or  the  same 
or  an  open  shoe  reenforced  by  an  oakum-filled  leather  sole; 
or  even  strips  of  felting  between  shoe  and  foot,  and  cut  away 
over  the  frog.  Some  need  the  weights  shifted  to  the  outside 
on  the  toe  or  the  heel  (rarely) ,  or  a  small  toe- weight,  or  various 
contrivances  which  apparently  suit  them  and  them  only. 
Very  light  shoes  will  spring  or  twist,  and  should  always  be 
made  of  bar  shape,  that  they  may  thus  be  stronger.  Some 
cases  of  cross-firing  in  pacers  will  be  helped  by  using,  behind, 
a  sharply  bevelled  shoe  almost  triangular  shaped  on  the 
inside  or  two-thirds  the  way  to  the  heel,  and  with  a  good 
overhang  to  the  outside  heels;  the  foot  cross-fired  on  being 
bevelled  as  sharply,  and  the  hoof  being  left  to  project  over. 

Many  horses  have  forefeet  that  grow  unevenly,  and 
finally  cramp  over  badly  and  contract  on  the  inside  quarters. 
An  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  much  in  these  cases,     and 

301 


DRIVING 

while  springs  in  the  heels  will,  if  the  foot  is  well  soaked  before 
application  and  the  shoe  left  free  at  the  heel,  help  matters 
very  much,  it  is  only  at  the  cost  of  much  discomfort  and  pain 
to  the  neglected  subject. 

Abnormally  long  toes  in  front  and  hind  shoes,  with  widely 
projecting  and  lengthy  outside  heels,  have  obtained  a  vogue — 
it  is  to  be  hoped  temporary  only  in  nature — more  because 
these  contrivances  chanced  to  prove  valuable  in  the  case  of 
some  special  horse,  than  because  they  are  either  generally 
necessary  in  practice  or  commendable  in  theory.  No  fashion 
of  handling  the  feet  has  given  rise  to  so  much  infirmness  and 
final  unsoundness  as  the  use  of  the  long  toe.  Useful  in  increas- 
ing knee-action  in  the  trotting-bred  horse  balanced  for  heavy- 
harness  purposes,  this  pernicious  custom — and  the  feet — 
have  been  carried  to  extraordinary  lengths,  regardless  of 
future  developments,  or  of  the  fact  that  the  tremendous  and 
unnatural  strain  on  tendons  and  the  throwing  out  of  their 
natural  relation  of  certain  joints  was  surely  working  injury, 
and  that  the  horse  thus  thrown  back  upon  his  heels  was 
practically  always  travelling  up-hill  and  greatly  fatiguing 
himself  in  consequence.  The  long  toe  behind  is  not  so 
unmixed  an  evil,  and  is  absolutely  necessary  to  square 
away  many  mixed-gaited  horses  and  on  pacers  of  a  certain 
style  of  going,  but  the  roadster  rarely  needs  such  balancing 
if  he  is  as  pure-gaited  naturally  as  a  good  and  true-made 
animal  is  likely  to  be.  Nearly  all  horses  are  safeguarded  by 
bevelling  the  inside  quarters  of  their  shoes  rather  sharply, 
and  calks,  if  worn  behind,  should  be,  as  a  general  rule,  set 
well  to  the  inside  of  the  web,  and  those  of  the  heel  made  long, 
especially  if  the  subject  is  close-gaited  and  inclined  to  slide 
when  he  sets  down  the  hind  foot  at  speed,  these  side-calks 
being  reinforced  by  a  toe-calk  of  similar  length. 

302 


BALANCING   AND    SHOEING   THE    ROADSTER 

The  convex  surface  shoe,  as  more  nearly  resembhng 
the  natural  foot  surface,  gives  best  results  on  all  horses,  and 
its  flat  upper  surface  fits  naturally  upon  the  walls.  Too 
many  nails  should  not  be  used,  and  especially  with  springs 
in  the  heels  must  the  quarters  be  free  to  expand  under  the 
pressure;  and  these  same  springs  must  not  be  too  suddenly 
expanded,  nor  the  work  of  expansion  carried  too  far. 

If  the  sole  is  extremely  cut  away,  as  it  too  often  is, 
frequent  and  regular  stoppings  must  be  applied  to  the  fore- 
feet by  means  of  any  of  the  ordinary  substances  used  for  the 
purpose,  or  by  a  bit  of  wet  sponge  confined  in  the  shoe  by  a 
piece  of  pliant  steel.  Swabs  about  the  coronets  occasionally 
applied  overnight  stimulate  growth.  Shoulder  and  muscle 
soreness  must  be  carefully  watched  for  and  treated,  for  we 
are  prone  to  overdrive  our  roadsters  at  times  and  to  take 
"just  one  more  brush"  out  of  them,  which  is  just  the  straw 
that  proves  too  much.  No  balancing,  etc.,  will  work  satis- 
factorily if  the  horse  is  sore  or  stiff  and  unwilling  or  afraid 
to  extend  himself. 

Apropos  of  the  very  common  and  intensely  annoying 
habit  of  forging,  or  clicking,  due  attention  must  be  paid,  in 
correcting  it,  to  the  natural  shape  of  the  animal:  whether 
heaviest  in  front  or  behind,  high  or  low  headed,  upright  or 
sloping  of  shoulder,  disproportionately  long  of  leg,  long  and 
elastic  or  short  and  "stubby"  of  pastern,  of  long  sweep  of 
action  behind,  or  toeing-in  there  because  the  hocks  are  weak 
and  slant  outwardly.  Such  horses  must  nearly  always  be 
driven  well  up  on  the  bit  when  jogging.  If  the  heel  is 
struck,  that  part  should  be  bevelled  sharp  or  even  cut  away; 
if  the  inside  of  the  web  at  toe  inside,  shift  the  weight  to 
the  heel  if  possible  without  disturbing  his  balance.  The 
concave  shoe,  as   being  well  bevelled  on  inside  of  web,  is 

303 


DRIVING 

distinctly  advantageous  in  all  cases  of  forging,  where  the 
inside  of  the  web  is  touched;  or  the  same  treatment  of 
outside  quarter  will  help.  The  breast-collar  must  not  be 
too  low,  and  the  head  must  be  raised  by  check  or  lowered 
by  martingale  until  the  happy  medium  is  found;  and  his 
gait  must  be  regulated  evenly  by  the  bit  and  by  keeping 
him  off  the  gait  at  which  he  hammers  himself  the  worst. 
Very  heavy  hind  shoes  will  sometimes  work  wonders, 
especially  if  the  weight  is  in  the  toe  and  the  toe  rather  long; 
extreme  cases  sometimes  yield  to  a  barshoe  on  the  hind  foot, 
the  toe  being  cut  off  after  it  is  fitted,  the  bar  compen- 
sating for  it.  This  leaves  the  toe  clear,  and  two  little  side- 
calks  will  retard  it.  Quickening  the  front  action  by  "  rolling  " 
the  shoe  well  does  not  suit  all  fast  horses,  and  the  square-toed 
shoe  is  hardly  suitable  for  the  overreaching  animal. 

Every  knee-knocker  can  be  made  to  go  clear  of  boots  and 
all  if  we  can  only  find  the  secret,  and  the  writer  has  had  con- 
siderable success  both  in  correcting  this  trouble  and  ordinary 
interfering  by  placing  between  the  shoe  and  the  foot  on  the 
inside  a  strip  of  leather  beginning  just  beyond  the  swell  of 
the  toe  and  gradually  widening  to  one  inch  or  one  inch  and  a 
half  at  the  heel.  This  piece  of  leather  is  notched  like  saw- 
teeth, and  acts  as  a  reminder  if  the  horse  goes  close;  as  a 
buffer  if  he  actually  strikes.  Of  course,  this  is  not  protection 
enough  for  a  chronic  offender  in  this  respect,  and  such  a 
one  will  always  need  boots  to  give  him  confidence — as  will 
many  old  track-horses,  who  have  always  been  protected 
at  all  points. 

The  upright  pasterns  are  always  susceptible  to  the 
results  of  concussion;  the  oblique  suffer  chiefly  from  strain. 
The  evils  of  upright  pasterns,  calf-knees,  etc.,  are  in  some 
horses  mitigated  by  an  oblique  shoulder.     The  latter  type 

304 


BALANCING   AND    SHOEING   THE    ROADSTER 

will  demand  a  short  foot  if  they  are  to  wear  well;  the  former 
a  rather  long  toe. 

Pacers,  as  a  rule,  are  much  more  easily  balanced  than 
trotters,  their  chief  faults  lying  in  a  tendency  to  cross-fire 
and  to  hit  themselves,  through  the  fact  that  most  of  them 
which  display  great  speed  have  a  tendency  to  turn  out  the 
toes  from  the  ankle.  Some  few  need  special  treatment, 
however,,  and  the  individual  case  must  determine  the  method. 

Sleigh  horses  need  ample  protection  by  boots,  and 
especially  should  the  quarter-boots  be  high  and  stout,  or  the 
sharp  calks  may  utterly  ruin  or  permanently  injure  a  horse. 
From  the  usual  cuppy  nature  of  the  footing  a  good  fast  sleigh 
horse  must  be  short-gaited,  rapid-going,  and  travel  with  his 
feet  well  under  him.  No  work  is  more  fatiguing  for  a  horse, 
and  nowhere  are  the  animals  more  usually  overdriven.  After 
such  fast  work,  special  attention  should  be  paid  the  shoulders 
and  tendons,  or  the  horse  will  get  very  sore  and  tied  up.  A 
fairly  heavy  sleigh  steadies  most  horses  better  than  the  very 
light  ones,  and  nowhere  is  a  puller  so  disagreeable  as  in  a 
sleigh — and  he  must  balance  himself  somehow.  About  thirty 
years  ago  a  well-known  Boston  track-horse,  Royal  Mike 
by  name,  very  fast  for  those  days,  was  brought  over  to  New 
York  to  take  the  measure  of  everything  on  Jerome  Avenue, 
but  to  light  sleighs  he  could  not  trot  a  little  bit.  Taken  home, 
his  disgusted  owner  put  him  to  a  heavy  doctor's  sleigh,  with 
top  up,  one  snowy  day,  and  with  a  friend  went  out  to  Boston's 
famous  Mile  Ground  to  look  at  the  sport  in  which  he  could  not 
hope  to  share.  Turning  at  the  head  of  the  road,  Mike  took 
hold  of  the  bit  and  they  let  him  step  along  a  little  at  about  a 
three-minute  clip.  Just  then  along  came  a  bunch  of  fast 
horses,  and  away  went  Mike  in  the  face  of  the  high  wind,  and 
if  ever  he  was  a  good  horse  it  was  that  day  and   that  way 

305 


DRIVING 

rigged,  for  he  beat  everything  on  the  road,  thus  proving  that 
to  certain  animals  considerable  weight  is  necessary  as  a 
steadier. 

Never  as  yet  indorsed  by  the  world  of  fashion  in  his 
unmutilated  state,  the  roadster  is  yet  destined  to  receive  at 
the  hands  of  the  socially  elect  the  recognition  due  him — 
especially  from  the  man  of  means,  who  finds  in  the  exciting 
contests  of  the  speedway  the  healthful  excitement  which 
increasing  years  prevent  his  enjoying  on  the  polo  field  or  in 
the  wake  of  a  pack  of  hoimds. 


306 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

ROAD-RIDERS    OF    EARLIER   TIMES 

New  York  was  the  home  of  the  "road-rider"  fifty 
years  ago,  even  as  it  is  to-day.  To  the  traveller  along  Seventh 
Avenue,  and  Jerome  Avenue  after  crossing  McComb's  Dam 
Bridge,  there  remains  now  but  little  to  suggest  those  bygone 
days,  but  even  trolley-car  tracks  and  other  encroachments  of 
civilisation  cannot  efface  from  the  memory  of  the  old-timers 
the  recollections  of  scenes  along  those  old  speedways — thoughts 
which  the  sight  of  those  crumbling  and  abandoned  old  road- 
houses  brings  vividly  to  mind.  Jerome  Avenue  afforded  a 
splendid  speeding-ground  after  Seventh  Avenue  became 
impeded  by  the  thronging  traffic,  and  the  establishment  of 
Jerome  Park  in  1868  induced  road-drivers  to  continue  their 
trips  above  the  bridge  and  to  find  at  "  Gabe  "  Case's,  Judge 
Smith's,  Sibbem's,  and  other  celebrated  road-houses,  that  com- 
fort for  the  inner  man  and  refreshment  for  the  equine  which 
was  so  universal  and  so  pleasant  a  feature  of  those  daily 
excursions,  no  outing  of  the  kind  being  considered  complete 
unless  it  included  stops  at  the  various  establishments  for  the 
purpose  of  sampling  the  various  liquids  and  viands  for  which 
they  were  imique,  and  of  passing  the  time  of  day  with  the 
various  turf  and  road  celebrities  there  congregated.  Then, 
as  now,  the  sport  was  proving  highly  attractive  to  many  men 
of  wealth  and  position,  and  every  day  one  could  see  jogging 
up  the  Avenue,  sitting  on  the  road-house  verandas,  and  later 
"brushing"  home  down  Harlem  Lane  to  the  pavement  at 
Twenty-eighth  Street,  or  later  from  the  bridge  to  the  Park, 

307 


DRIVING 

such  well-known  men  as  Commodore  Vanderbilt,  Frank  Work, 
W.  H.  Vanderbilt,  Robert  Bonner,  Edwin  Thome,  Josiah  M. 
Fiske,  William  Turnbull,  Thomas  Morton,  Charles  Backman, 
W.  C.  France,  S.  T.  Dickerson,  Matthew  Riley,  Shepard  F. 
Knapp,  Phil.  Dater,  George  L.  Lorillard,  Ruben  S.  Compton, 
George  K.  Sistare,  Henry  N.  Smith,  Edward  A.  Kilpatrick, 
James  G.  K.  Lawrence,  Harrison  Durkee,  A.  B.  Darling,  S.  R. 
Bowne,  Pickering  Clark,  Harry  Felter,  A.  N.  Gillender, 
John  Daniel,  H.  W.  T.  MaH,  Samuel  J.  Morgan,  G.  S.  Moulton, 
Wm.  M.  Parks,  J.  T.  Soutter,  Henry  Steers,  Thomas  P. 
Wallace,  George  B.  Alley,  T.  C.  Eastman,  C.  D.  Moss,  A.  A. 
Bonner,  Morgan  L.  Mott,  Samuel  Weeks,  Foster  Dewey, 
Alec  Taylor,  J.  H.  Coster,  Ed.  S.  Stokes,  Joseph  Harker, 
David  S.  Hammond,  W.  H.  Humphrey,  C.  Vanderbilt  Cross, 
Pierre  Lorillard  and  Lawrence  Kip,  while  the  soft-dirt  road, 
which  is  now  but  flinty  macadam,  resounded  to  the  hurrying 
hoofbeats  of  such  peerless  trotters  and  roadsters  as  Peerless, 
Pocahontas,  Dexter,  Leander,  Bruno,  Breeze,  Small  Hopes, 
Red  Jim,  Darby,  Mountain  Boy,  Charley  Hogan,  Startle, 
Aldine,  Dick  Swiveler,  Early  Rose,  Maud  S.,  Star  W.,  Guy, 
Majolica,  Garibaldi,  May  Queen,  Cleora,  Richard,  Music, 
Harry  Wilkes  and  Judge  Fullerton.  In  earliest  days  the 
pacer,  nowadays  so  popular,  was  hardly  considered  a  gentle- 
man's road-horse  at  all,  and  save  for  the  occasional  butcher, 
baker  or  publican,  whose  competition  with  the  gentlemen 
owners  was  not  countenanced,  was  rarely  seen — and  then 
only  in  the  form  of  some  low-headed,  drooping-quartered, 
viilgar  little  "Kanuck,"  not  much  above  a  pony  in  size,  and 
urged  to  his  speed  by  loud  yells  and  a  swaying  back  and  forth 
of  the  holder  of  the  reins,  rendered  necessary  by  his  animal's 
Canadian  education  at  the  hands  of  some  stupid  "habitant." 
Riding  among,  and  occasionally  racing  with,  these  amateurs 

308 


ROAD-RIDERS   OF   EARLY   TIMES 

were  such  well-known  professionals  as  Hiram  and  Isaac 
Woodruff,  "Dan"  ("Peg")  Pfieffer,  "Bill"  Whelan,  J.  D. 
McMann,  Johnny  Murphy,  "Dan"  and  "Ben"  Mace,  "Billy" 
Weeks,  "Charley"  Green,  "Jimmy"  Dougrey,  Dunn  Walton, 
George  Spicer,  John  Spicer,  Matt  Clinstock,  George  Woodruff, 
Peter  Whelan,  Frank  Duffy,  Frank  Tolbert,  James  Whelpley, 
James  Hammil,  etc. — men  who  by  their  skill,  intelligence 
and  care  helped  to  make  the  trotter  what  he  is  to-day. 

The  Seventh  Avenue  of  to-day  is  not,  as  many  suppose, 
the  "Harlem  Lane"  of  sporting  associations  wherein  at  even 
an  earlier  date  were  decided  countless  brushes  for  fun  and 
money.  This  was  what  is  now  St.  Nicholas  Avenue,  and  it 
ran  through  the  upper  comer  of  what  is  now  the  Park  and  into 
Third  Avenue.  "The  Red  House"  was  at  io6th  Street  and 
First  Avenue.  This  stretch  was  the  battle-ground  of  all  the 
fast  horses  of  early  days. 

Long  before  the  days  of  Fleetwood  Park  the  old  Harlem 
race-course  was  in  existence  near  140th  Street,  and  here, 
about  1806,  it  is  said  that  Yankee  trotted  (probably  under 
saddle)  a  full  mile  in  2  159 — this  being  the  first  record  of  such 
a  feat;  this  was,  in  18 18,  overshadowed  by  the  accomplish- 
ment of  "the  Boston  Pony,"  who  trotted  a  mile  in  harness 
(wagon  or  sulky)  in  three  minutes.  The  Harlem  Park  Course 
was  opened  in  1833,  was  managed  by  Hiram  Woodruff's 
father,  and  was  the  scene  of  many  impromptu  races,  mostly 
to  saddle.  It  was  situated  about  where  East  140th  Street 
lies  now,  and  was  a  long  drive  out  of  town,  as  the  pavement 
then  ended  at  Twenty-eighth  Street,  in  the  Bull's  Head. 
The  bloods  of  the  day  made  Bradshaw's  road-house  in 
Harlem  near  the  Harlem  course  a  place  of  meeting,  and  used 
to  brush  from  there  down  Harlem  Lane  and  Yorkville  Hill, 
into  Third  Avenue  (which  was  a  continuation  of  the  same), 

309 


DRIVING 

and  thence  to  the  Bull's  Head.  The  site  of  Central  Park 
was  then  a  wilderness. 

About  1835  road-driving  first  became  popular,  and  every 
sportsman  of  the  day,  possessing  the  necessary  means  and 
the  skill,  maintained  his  one  or  two  fast  trotters  behind  which 
he  took  the  air  of  an  afternoon  as  far  up  as  the  celebrated 
Bradshaw's,  just  mentioned.  Matters  were  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  gentlemen,  and  they  allowed  no  interlopers,  in  the 
way  of  casual  "  sport "  or  publican,  to  interfere  in  their 
brushes — a  matter  which  these  gentry  well  understood.  An 
odd  pugilist  or  two,  then  at  the  zenith  of  fame,  might  take  a 
hand,  but  none  others  except  the  professional  trainers  who 
were  asked  by  word  of  mouth  to  participate.  If  others 
started  the  amateurs  pulled  up.  Such  men  as  Hamilton 
Wilkes,  William  McLeod,  George  Wilson,  William  Laight, 
Des  Brosses  Huster,  Mr.  Coster,  James  Valentine,  James 
Bradhurst,  Peter  Barker,  Mr.  Neill,  and  a  hundred  more, 
behind  such  turf  and  road  celebrities  as  Paul  Pry,  Awful, 
Bobus,  Jerry,  Blackbird,  Bull-in-the- Woods,  Fanny  Pullen, 
Yankee  Doodle,  Dutchman,  Beppo,  Fire  King,  Modesty, 
Rattler,  the  evergreen  "white-legged  pony"  Ripton — (the 
"gay  heart  of  the  trotting  turf"  and  king  of  sleigh  horses), 
and  others,  as  well  as  pairs,  four-in-hands,  etc. 

There  was  trotting  at  Hunting  Park  Course,  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1828,  under  George  Woodruff's  management 
who  had  in  training  there  those  good  campaigners.  Top 
Gallant,  Columbus,  etc. 

In  1847  Willard  Reed  drove  Gray  Harry  and  Betsey 
Baker  one  mile  tandem  over  Union  Course  in  2 143  3-4. 

About  1835  Thomas  Cooper,  the  tragedian,  acted  alter- 
nate nights  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  and  drove  a 
celebrated  horse  called  "  Old  Black  "  back  and  forth  each  day 

310 


z 

o 
o 


'A 

< 

o 


ROAD-RIDERS   OF   EARLY   TIMES 

for  weeks — an  extraordinary  instance  of  endurance  and 
repeating  powers. 

Even  as  early  as  1759  the  Narragansett  pacer  was  well- 
known  and  was  a  regular  article  of  export  to  the  Bermudas 
and  elsewhere  for  saddle  and  harness  work. 

Bustling  as  were  the  old  days  on  "The  Lane"  and  its 
successors  the  two  Avenues,  there  was  at  that  time  (about 
1840)  and  earlier  a  strong  contingent  who,  through  its  greater 
accessibility  from  that  lower  portion  of  the  city  where  in 
those  days  was  located  the  residential  section,  preferred 
Long  Island  and  its  environments  as  the  scenes  of  their  daily 
or  weekly  outings.  This  was  also  true  of  the  residents  of 
Brooklyn.  Trotting  tracks — as  those  at  Huntington,  Babylon, 
Massapequa,  Hempstead,  the  celebrated  Union,  Fashion  and 
Centreville  Tracks,  all  now  built  over  and  forgotten,  were 
accessible,  some  after  an  hour's  drive,  some  by  one  of  longer 
duration.  Over  Fulton  Ferry  and  Fulton  Avenue,  and  out  on 
the  old  Jamaica  turnpike  via  East  New  York,  one  came,  after 
just  sufficient  interval  to  make  a  "brandy  smash,"  a  "stone 
fence  "  or  a  mug  of  "  flip  "  enjoyable,  to  the  road-houses  kept 
by  "Bill"  Whelan,  "Sim"  Hoagland,  Jack  Snedicor,  and 
Hiram  Woodruff,  the  Union  Course  being  close  by  and  the 
Centreville  track  but  a  mile  or  two  beyond.  These  rendezvous 
were  always  crowded,  especially  in  sleighing- time,  and  many 
wa3^arers  were,  from  sheer  inability  to  find  shed-room  for 
their  horses,  forced  to  journey  on  to  Remsen's  or  Weeks's 
places  near  Jamaica.  Many  were  the  impromptu  races 
arranged  and  summarily  brought  off,  and,  if  the  road  would 
not  serve,  the  tracks  were  close  at  hand.  In  those  days 
sleighing  always  lasted  for  months,  and  horses  were  inured 
to  long  trips ;  so  that  the  dinners,  suppers  and  nightly  dances 
at  these  hostelries  were  always  well  attended;  after  which  all 

3" 


DRIVING 

hands  hustled  home,  best  pace,  and  Uvely  were  the  ensuing 
scenes  along  the  road.  Many  were  the  huge  boat-sleighs  drawn 
by  six  or  more  horses  and  loaded  with  merry  parties;  the 
smaller  sleighs  with  four  to  pull  them;  and  the  comfortable 
family  sleighs  drawn  by  one  or  a  pair;  all  smothered  in  big 
buffalo  robes,  and  forming  a  picturesque  scene  in  the  brilliant 
moonlight.  Heigh  ho !  We  dash  about  nowadays  by  steam, 
trolley  and  automobile ;  we  devour  the  miles  as  flames  lick  up 
the  dry  grass;  comparative  distances  are  but  inconsequential 
— and  fast  as  are  our  modes  of  travel,  our  daily  lives  are  in 
their  way  as  rapid,  and  our  rate  of  travel  but  emphasises  the 
hurly-burly  of  all  our  worldly  affairs.  Did  not  our  ancestors 
have  in  many  ways  the  best  of  us,  and  among  the  items  may 
we  not  class  that  comparative  leisure  with  which  they  con- 
ducted all  their  affairs,  the  genuine  enjoyment  they  found  in 
life,  the  length  to  which  that  existence  extended,  and  the 
homely,  simple  pleasures  which  marked  its  red-letter  days? 
Verily  it  would  reasonably  appear  so. 


312 


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1 

k 

' 

i 

&> 

j_-.  i_. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

SLEIGHING    AND     SLEIGH     HORSES 

Sleighing  and  fast  trotting  horses  go  together — in  any 
country  where  the  former  amusement  for  extended  periods  is 
possible.  Rapidity  of  locomotion  is  almost  a  sine  qua  non 
to  the  sport.  As  providing  at  the  same  time  for  celerity 
and  steadiness  of  movement,  the  fast  trotter  finds  in  the 
sleigh  his  appropriate  accompaniment ;  nor  can  his  formidable 
rival  (in  America,  at  least),  the  pacer,  hope  to  cope  with  him 
at  this  undertaking,  because  the  footing  afforded  is  usually 
detrimental  to  the  latter,  and  his  lateral  gait  finds,  in  the  snow- 
path  and  the  average  road,  its  most  formidable  obstacle — 
changing  it  perforce  when  fatigue  supervenes  to  the  diagonal 
— the  trot.  Apparently  this  did  not  hold  true  in  the  case  of 
the  wiry  little  Canadian  pacer  so  common  thirty  or  more 
years  ago,  but  these  homely  little  brutes  were  not  up  to  a  fast 
pace;  and,  as  the  track  worn  in  the  roads  always  ran  at  the 
width  of  one  horse's  footprints,  the  two  furrows  worn  by 
the  shuffling  feet  were  fairly  clear,  and  progress  in  conse- 
quence not  much  impeded.  On  clear  ice  or  over  very  hard 
frozen  snow  the  pacer  holds  his  own  and  sticks  to  his  gait, 
but  not  over  loose  or  moderately  deep  footing.  Because  of 
changing  seasons,  a  shifting  Gulf  Stream,  or  other  combina- 
tions, sleighing  in  America  is  not  as  universally  enjoyable 
in  northern  and  eastern  localities  as  in  the  days  of  yore, 
when  it  was  regularly  customary  to  get  out  the  sleighs  at 
Thanksgiving  and  put  them  away  about  March  25th,  not 
a  wheel  turning  in  the  interval  and  the  going  being  always  of 

313 


DRIVING 

the  best.  In  many  of  these  same  locaUties  to-day  sleighs  are 
rarely  or  never  seen,  and  seldom  needed,  so  that  those  who 
would  enjoy  this  glorious  pastime  are  forced  to  seek  colder 
climes,  where  as  yet  modern  vagaries  of  climate  have  made 
no  impression. 

The  original  method  of  making  horses  draw  loads  instead 
of  carrying  them  was  by  means  of  some  crude  arrangement  of 
poles  or  sleds,  and  even  to-day  the  Indians  use  the  "  travois," 
or  poles  attached  to  each  side  of  a  pony,  the  ends  sliding  over 
the  ground  like  runners,  carrying,  on  poles  lashed  across, 
the  children  and  the  various  family  appurtenances. 

The  old  sleighs,  or  pungs,  which  were  first  in  use  here 
were  low  of  runner,  very  solidly  and  crudely  built,  deep  of 
body,  and  but  one  remove  from  the  heavy  work-sled.  Whole 
townships  availed  themselves  of  the  winter  season  to  transport 
to  nearby  cities  the  marketable  produce  of  their  farms,  and 
this  annual  peregrination  was  in  early  times  an  occasion  of 
perhaps  a  month's  journey,  all  food  being  carried,  and  camps 
being  made  at  night  along  the  roadside.  Miscellaneous  was 
the  freight  thus  hauled  to  market,  and  not  unusually  the 
entire  outfit  was  disposed  of — horses,  sled  and  all — the  owners 
returning  on  foot  to  their  distant  homes  in  the  wilderness, 
repeating  the  journey  the  following  year. 

We  all  remember  those  huge  old  six-  or  eight-horse  boat- 
sleighs  of  oiir  younger  days.  No  coimtry  livery  stable  was 
complete  as  to  outfit  unless  supplied  with  one  of  them ;  and 
freighted  with  its  jolly  load  of  from  twenty  to  fifty,  smothered 
in  huge  buffalo  robes  and  waist-deep  in  straw,  they  were: 
in  nightly  request  for  expeditions  to  some  country  tavern, 
where  a  dance  and  supper  formed  the  invariable  culmination 
of  the  evening's  pleasure.  Many  of  these  celebrated  old 
hostelries  are  standing  to-day,  although,  alas !  now  deserted. 

314 


O 

o 
u 


o 


SLEIGHING   AND   SLEIGH   HORSES 

Poorly  conditioned  as  were  once  at  most  seasons  the 
average  country  roads,  and  therefore  unusable  for  rapid 
pleasure  driving,  it  was  found  that  these  drawbacks  did  not 
obtain  in  winter,  when  a  solid  snowy  footing  covered  the 
ground  for  many  miles,  and  once  the  roadmaster,  with  his 
tributary  ox-teams  and  the  township's  plow,  had  broken 
out  the  drifts,  the  settling  of  the  fleecy  material  was  a  signal 
for  the  merry  tinkle  of  sleighbells  to  resound  on  all  sides, 
and  every  young  man  and  his  "best  girl"  improved  the 
moonlight  nights,  and  some  of  the  afternoons,  to  get  together 
with  others  of  their  ilk  over  the  "  flats  down  to  the  Four 
Comers,"  and  there  rode  up  and  down  at  the  best  paces  of 
which  their  astonished  Dobbins  were  capable;  while  quilting- 
bees,  husking-parties,  etc.,  found  then  their  appropriate 
term,  not  only  because  leisure  was  more  plentiful,  but  because 
travel  was  more  easily  possible  to  all  and  sundry. 

As  the  many  prospered  and  were  able  to  "keep  a  horse," 
the  buggy  or  the  carryall  might  be  long  in  adorning  the 
family  bam,  but  the  sleigh  was  surely  there,  and  whatever 
the  general  family  opinion  regarding  the  winter  solstice, 
honest  old  Billy  witnessed  its  advent  with  disgust,  as  bringing 
to  him  in  its  train  many  trials  and  tribulations. 

Road-riding  to  wagon  was  not  a  general  pursuit  of  the 
prosperous  until  about  1840,  but  sleighing-time  was  essentially 
the  period  of  such  outdoor  recreation  fifty  years  or  more 
before  that,  and  the  horse  who  could  step  along  at  about  a 
four-minute  gait  was  pretty  nearly  the  "boss  of  the  road." 

Of  late  years,  large  sums  have  been  paid  for  animals 
which  could  pull  a  cutter  at  a  fast  gait ;  and  somehow  there 
arises,  in  the  exhilaration  from  the  keen  air,  the  sensation 
of  gliding  freely  along,  a  demand  for  a  rapidity  of  pace  which 
the  circumstances  of  the  loose  footing  render  unsuitable  and 

315 


DRIVING 

very  tiring  to  the  horse.  Snow  is  always  "cuppy"  going, 
and  even  the  sharpest-shod  animal  finds  that  he  does  not 
*'  get  all  he  reaches  for,"  but  that  his  foothold  is  most  insecure. 
Even  on  ice  is  this  true,  and  the  calks  bite  away  the  brittle 
surface  most  distressingly  to  him. 

Wild  stories  were  formerly  current  of  this  and  that  horse 
trotting  a  full  mile  over  ice  in  2:15  or  so,  and  halves  in  a 
minute,  and  carping  skeptics  used  to  affirm  that  this  was 
accomplished  through  marking  the  distances  by  laying 
upon  the  ice  a  light  bush  which  blew  along  toward  the  horse 
while  he  trotted  toward  it !  Certainly,  if  the  timekeepers 
were  conscientious,  some  such  scheme  must  have  been 
devised,  for  neither  on  snow  or  ice  can  any  horse  trot  or  pace 
an3rwhere  near  as  fast  as  he  can  on  dirt.  This  was  conclu- 
sively proved  at  Beacon  Park,  Boston,  where  one  winter 
(about  1885)  a  handsome  whip  was  offered  for  the  horse 
which  should  trot  the  fastest  mile  over  its  specially  prepared 
measured  mile  iced  surface.  The  fastest  horses  in  Boston 
were  conditioned  for  these  trials,  and,  although  limitless 
attempts  were  allowed  and  made,  the  best  that  any  of  them 
could  do  for  the  distance  was  a  mile  in  2:30.  Not  every 
horse  can  "trot  snow"  or  ice.  It  is  the  rapid-going,  snappy, 
active  animal  whose  legs  are  always  under  him  which  makes 
the  best  hand  at  it,  and  the  long-strider  has  not  a  chance 
with  horses  he  can  easily  defeat  over  dirt.  Plenty  of  boots 
must  always  be  worn,  for  the  sharp  calks  may  make  frightful 
woimds,  and  a  leg-weary  horse  may  hit  or  grab  himself  at 
any  moment.  Nor  should  your  sleigh  horse  be  too  tall,  as  it 
will  make  it  difficult  to  see  from  your  low  seat  where  you  are 
going.  The  shafts  should  be  taken  up  rather  high — much 
higher  than  ordinary — to  avoid  the  side  swing  of  the  shoulder 
motion  at  speed,  and  your  steed  must  be  "hitched"  with 

316 


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SLEIGHING  AND   SLEIGH   HORSES 

ample  length  of  traces  and  of  breeching.  Extremely  light 
sleighs  are  the  fashion,  but  no  good  end  is  served  by  this,  as 
over  footing  fit  to  speed  a  horse  upon  there  will  be  a  total 
absence  of  friction  anyhow. 

So  exhilarating  to  the  passengers  is  the  swift  gliding 
motion  that  the  horse  is  more  usually  overdriven — frequently 
cruelly  so — in  sleighing-time  than  at  any  other  period,  and 
drivers  forget  in  their  excitement  the  uncertain  and  cuppy 
character  of  even  the  very  best  and  hardest  snow  footing. 
Occasional  (or  frequent)  stops  at  road-houses,  and  the  attend- 
ant absorption  of  one  or  more  seductive  "Tom  and  Jerrys" 
or  "hot  Scotches,"  add  to  the  exhilaration,  and  bearing 
always  in  mind  the  fact  that  not  for  a  year  may  another 
opportunity  offer  to  enjoy  the  sport,  the  unfortunate  beast 
is  kept  at  his  task  to  the  limit  of  his  powers  and  beyond. 
If  we  would  hesitate  to  "brush"  a  horse  a  full  mile  over  a 
dirt  road,  we  may  be  very  sure  that  a  half-mile  on  snow  is 
equally  exhausting,  and  should  let  pleasure  always  be 
subservient  to  mercy.  Look  at  any  horse's  footprints,  even 
when  jogging,  and  notice  how  he  fails  to  hold  what  the  foot 
takes,  but  slips  back  an  inch  or  more;  notice  also  the  marks 
at  speed,  and  figure  the  exhaustion  you  invite.  Have  you 
ever  tried  to  run  a  hundred  yards  over  a  beach?  Try  it, 
and  its  surface  will  use  you  up  more  than  a  mile  over  a  road. 

There  is  no  kind  of  going  that  will  so  quickly  and  surely 
make  a  horse  muscle-and- tendon  sore  as  a  "snow  path," 
and  especially  in  the  shoulders  will  this  be  felt.  Concussion 
is  severe  and  exertion  violent  because  of  the  insecure  footing. 
Redouble  the  care  of  your  fast  horses  during  sleighing  time; 
see  that  their  shoulders  are  well  steamed  out,  and  massaged 
with  a  good  liniment,  and  that  a  first-class  leg-wash  is  also  used, 
the  muscles  of  the  hind  legs  and  loins  being  also  well  sham- 

317 


DRIVING 

pooed  with  the  same,  and  bandages  carefully  applied  to  the 
legs  overnight.  The  surface  of  the  foot  should  be  filled 
by  gutta-percha  packing,  or  by  a  leather  pad,  that  the  feet 
may  not  ball,  and  the  long  calks  have  full  chance  therefore  to 
act  and  to  get  as  good  a  foothold  as  possible.  Good,  strong 
quarter-boots  are  always  advisable,  and  plenty  of  other 
boots  as  well.  Leather  bits  should  be  used,  if  the  horse 
drives  kindly  in  them,  or  check-pieces  at  least  put  on  that  the 
cold  steels  may  not  frost-bite  the  lips  and  tongue.  Great 
care  must  be  taken  when  driving  home  not  to  jog  too 
slowly  a  horse  which  has  been  thoroughly  overheated  by 
brushing.  It  is  a  mistaken  kindness,  and  this  is  by  no  means 
the  time  to  be  easy  with  him.  In  his  exhausted  condition 
he  is  peculiarly  susceptible  to  any  chill,  which  if  taken  is 
likely  to  bring  on  serious  complications,  even  to  instant 
congestion  and  death.  Keep  him  moving  at  a  good  pace, 
and  get  him  home  where  he  can  be  taken  care  of;  while,  if 
you  have  some  distance  to  go,  it  will  not  be  much  trouble 
for  you  to  carry  a  breast-cloth  the  width  of  his  chest,  which 
will  buckle  round  the  breast-collar  and  prevent  the  cold 
winds  from  striking  there;  surely  you  owe  him  this  much 
attention  for  all  the  fun  he  has  given  you  both  on  this  day 
and  many  other  days. 

You  never  ride  half  as  fast  as  you  think  you  do  over 
snow,  and  all  drivers  are  driving  faster  than  their  horses 
can  go. 

Above  all  things,  let  your  horse's  head  down  when  you 
are  jogging  out,  or  back  home,  unless  he  is  one  of  those 
distorted  brutes  who  pulls  hard  unless  checked  just  so.  We 
are  hideously  cruel  in  this  matter  of  checking  our  road  and 
speedway  horses,  and  it  is  an  outrage  that  it  is  not  stopped 
by  law.     Not  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  horses  that  wear  checks 

318 


m 


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I    /: 


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• ,  ^" " 

\    ^^ 

■^ 

¥ 

? 

SLEIGHING    AND    SLEIGH    HORSES 

need  them  at  all,  and  of  the  other  fifty  per  cent,  fully  half 
will  go  easier  and  faster  if  given  more  liberty  in  this  respect. 
Because  a  horse  has  to  be  rigged  thus  and  so  in  a  sulky  has 
no  bearing  upon  his  posture  in  a  wagon  or  sleigh,  and  almost 
invariably  more  liberty  may  be  allowed,  and  distinct  benefits, 
aside  from  the  obvious  humanity,  accrue. 


THE   END 


3x9 


INDEX 


"Acrobats,"  232 

Advice  in  regard  to  breeding  trotters, 

.  253 

Agassiz,  Max,  226 
Age  of  the  horse,  the,  239 
Air  a  necessity,  175 
"Alert,"  the,  225 
Amateur  drivers'  challenge  trophy,  the, 

279 
Amateur  driving  club,  the  first  genuine, 

278 
Amateur,  proper  equipment  of,  126 
Amateur  road  drivers  in  1835,  etc.,  310 
American  Coaching  Club,  the,  221 
American  impetuosity,  242 
American    vehicles    standard   in    other 

countries,  21 
Appointments,  eccentricities  in,  145 
Appointments  of  the  runabout,  139 
Appropriateness  of  outfit,  149 
"Aquidneck,"  the,  226 

Bachelor  brougham,  the,  28,  130 

Badminton  driving,  36 

Baggage,  20 

Balance,  changing  the,  211 

Balancing  and  shoeing  the  roadster,  297 

Balking,  238 

Bandages,  170 

Barefoot  horse,  the,  187 

Beach,  F.  O.,  225,  226 

Beach  wagon,  the,  29 

Beadleston,  W.  L.,  227 

Bedding,  183 

Bell,  Isaac,  224 

Bellyband,  143 

Beylard,  E.  D.,  226 

Bits,  variety  of,  114 

Bloodgood,  H.  K.,  227 

Blood  spavin,  236 

Bodily  condition,  250 

Bone  spavin,  235 

Booth,  W.  Vernon,  226 

Boots  and  booting,  276 

Boston  pony,  the,  309 

Box,  how  to  mount,  87 

how  to  sit  on,  88 
Bran,  middlings,  etc.,  181 
Breeches,  165 
"  Bristle-burr,"  65 
Bronson,  Mr.  Frederick,  68,  224 
Brougham,  the,  28 
Browning,  E.,  9,  225 
Brown,  Nelson,  9,  225 
Buggy,  the  American,  29 


Buggy,  the  first,  23 
Building,  exposure  of,  190 
Bull's  Head,  the,  309 
Buxton  bits,  133 

Cabriolet,  the,  28 

Calash,  the,  8,27 

Care  of  horses  during  sleighing  time,  318 

Carman,  R.  F.,  227 

Carriage-house  furnishings,  170 

Carriages, 

care  of,  195-200 

type  of,  8 

when  first  in  use  in  America,  8 
Carryall,  the,  24,  29 
Cary,  H.  A.,  226 
Cary,  Seward,  227 
Catlin,  W.  S.,  225 
Chaise,  the  lady's  French,  138 
Char-a-banc,  the,  27 
Checks  for  pair-horse  driving,  73 
Chin-strap,  117 
Clover  as  food,  180 
Coach,  arrival  of,  at  tavern,  10 

the  starting  of,  10 
Coaches,  decoration  of,  10 

egg-shaped,  10 

in  America,  8 

objection  to,  in  England,  8 

springless,  1 1 
Coaching  Club ,  the ,  152,  221 
Coachman,  essentials  of,  155 

perquisites  and  commissions  of,  159 

the  thorough,  158 
Coach,  the  private,  26 
Colours  for  road  coach,  135 
Colour  vs.  disposition,  241 
Competition,  show-ring,  126 
Condiments  to  stimulate  appetite,  181, 

182 
Conditioning  a  horse  for  matinee  racing, 

293 
"Conestoga"  coach,  12 

construction  of,  15 

driver  of,  16 

guard  of,  1 7 

horses  in  front  of,  15,16 

weight  of,  1 4 
"Constitution,"  the,  226 
' '  Contortionists,"  2  3  2 
Convenience  of  arrangement,  193 
Com,  181 
Corns,  236 

Correct  appointment,  definition  of,  125 
Country  phaeton,  the  lady's,  138 


DRIVING 


Covering  for  bit,  1 18 
Crests  or  badges,  127 
Crib-biting,  239 
"Cricket,"  the,  225 
Curb-chain,  65,  117 
Curbs,  236 
Curricles,  the,  8 
Cut  feed,  182 

Daumont,  the,  27 

Days,  non-working,  294,  295 

Demand,  increase  in  the  foreign,  for  our 

carriages,  25  . 

Demi-daumont,  the,  27 
Demi-mail,  the,  30 
Democrat  wagon,  the,  29 
Device  to  keep  tongue  in  place,  286 
Dock-tailed  horse,  150 
Dog-carts,  30 
Door-panels,  146 
Drainage,  190,  192 
Drinking  buckets,  170 
Driving  as  an  art,  4 

as  an  education,  5 

as  a  pastime,  3 

for  women,  6,  105-110 
Driving  as  related  to  piano  playing,  56 
Driving  for  novices,  55 
Driving  tours,  261 

horses  for,  265 

necessaries  for,  264 

party  for,  264 

Earth  floors,  194 
Economy  in  the  stable,  171 
Elbow  boots,  300 
Elegance,  true,  how  attained,  125 
English  harness,  30 
Enlarged  joints,  237 
Enlarged  legs,  237 
"Enterprise,"  the,  225 
"Essex,"  the,  226 
Eustis,  W.  C,  226 
Evans,  Harry,  227 
Exhibitors,  207 

Expense,  average,   of  a  horse's  yearly 
keep, 174 

Face  and  figure  of  grooms  and  helpers, 

161 
Facial  muscle  bit,  119 
Fahys,  G.,  228 
Faust,  Guy,  36 

Features,  the  two  principal,  240 
Feed,  quantity  of,  178 

essentials  of,  179 

monotony  of,  178 
Feed-boxes,  193 
Feeding,  hours  of,  178 
Final  parade,  216 
Firing,  237 

"Fitness  of  things,"  230 
Flaxseed  jelly,  181 
Foreign  courts,  functions  of,  126 


Forging,  303 

Four-in-Hand  Club,  the,  221 
Four-in-hand  driving,  83 

harness  for,  86 

horses  for,  84 
Furs,  166 
Fownes,  E.,  227 
"Freak carriages,"  26 
"Freelance,"  the,  227 
French  chaise,  the,  22 
"French  checks,"  148,  151 
Fretsch,  Hugo,  224 

Gag  check,  the,  65 

"General  purpose"  horse,  235 

Gentlemen's  Driving  Club  of  Cleveland, 

the,  278 
George  the  Fourth  phaeton,  137 
Gig,  the,  31 

appointments  of ,  138 
Gloves  of  coachman,  166 
Goddard  buggy,  the,  29 
"Good  Times, '^' the,  227 
Governess  cart,  the,  31 
Grain-bins,  171 
Grooming,  184,  185 

Hames  terrets,  133 
"Hands,"  108 
Hansom,  the,  29 

appointments  of,  140 
"Harlem  Lane,"  309 
Harlem  race  course,  the  old,  309 
Harmony  between  coachman  and   ve» 

hide,  155 
Harmony  of  surroundings,  126 
Harness,  care  of,  201 

construction  of,  203-205 
Harness  for  road  coach,  135 
Harness  horse,  height  of,  234 

structure  of,  232 
Harnessing,  62 

Harness- room  furnishings,  171 
Harum,  D.,  Esq.,  words  of,  107 
Hats  for  coachman,  166 
Hay-chutes,  171 

Hay,  quantity  of,  an  average  horse  con- 
sumes daily,  179 
Hay  tea,  182 
Heaves,  235 
Heavy  harness,  147 
Heavy-harness  driving,  94 
Heavy-harness  horse,  bitting  of,  iii 
"Height  for  purpose,"  256 
High  action,  developing,  212 
Hill,  how  to  go  over  a,  61 
Holding  reins,  93-104 

accepted  method  of,  93 
Holland,  Richard,  39 
Horse,  how  to  speak  to  a,  61 
Horses,  changing  about  of,  75 
Horse  shows,  245 
Hulme,  G.  B.,  227 
Hyde,  J.  H.,  227 


INDEX 


Improvements  and  changes,  26 
Interfering,  236 
Iselin,  C.  Oliver,  224 

Jay,  Mr.  William,  224 
Jehus,  old-time,  18 

western,  33,  34,35.36 
Jerk-line,  driving  with,  38 
"John,"  speech  to,  159 
Juvenile  driving,  55 

Kane,  Colonel  Delancey  A.,  223,  224 

Kay  collars,  133 

"Kentucky  blue  grass,"  180 

"  Kentucky-brake"  cart,  the,  31 

Kip,  L.,  227 

Kits,  272 

Knee-action,  excessive,  301] 

improving,  213 
Knee-hitting,  236 
Knee-knocker,  305 

Landau,  the,  27 

equipments  of,  134 
Landlord,  the,  as  an  oracle  and  news 

vender,  14 
League  of  Amateur  Driving  Clubs,  the, 

279 
Leased  stables,  175 
Length  of  body  and  neck,  considera- 

ation  of,  121 
Light-harness  horse,  the  American,  113 
Light  in  the  stable,  191 
Lightness,  271 
Linchpins,  24 

Liverpool  and  "elbow"  bits,  117 
Livery  coats,  148 
Livery,  detail  of,  1 61-166 
Loin-straps,  147 
Long-tailed  horses,  247 
Long  toes,  abnormally,  302 
Loops  or  "points,"  95 
Lord  Dundreary,  remark  of,  55 
Lorillard,  Pierre,  Jr.,  225 
Lovelace,  Governor,  9 
Love,  S.  C.,  226 
"Lowerbar,"  ii6 
Low  wheels,  29 

Macadam,  the  first,  12 
Mail  phaeton,  the,  30 

outfit  for,  136 
Malet,  Captain,  35 
Mares,  257,  258 
"Matinee,"  the,  30 
Matinee  racing,  277 
McKean,  H.  P.,  227 
"Memphis shoe,"  300,  301 
Miller,  E.,  225 
Mixing-tub,  a,  171 
Monk,  Hank,  36 

story  about,  37 
"Monmouth,"  the,  227 
Monogram  or  initial,  1 28 


Moore,  Clarence,  226 

Moore,  J.  H.,  226 

Morgan  Messenger,  22 

Mouth,  a  horse's,  how  to  treat,  58 

construction  of,  112 
Mouthpiece,  jointed,  117 
Muscles,  58 
Myers,  Jim,  story  about,  38 

Navicular  disease,  237 
"Neighbourhood  coach,"  53 
Neurotomy,  operation  of,  237 
New  York  and  Philadelphia,   first  reg- 
ular coach  line  between,  9 
NicoUs,  Governor,  9 
Night-clothing,  170 
Nose-band,  74,  114,  115 

Oats,  180 
Oat-sieve,  an,  171 
Omnibus,  the  private,  28 

equipments  of ,  134 
Onwentsia  Club,  the,  226 
One  rein,  driving  upon,  118 
Ophthalmia,  235 
"Opposition"  looping,  97 
Order  in  the  stable,  172 
Outfit,  "park,"  143 

Pace,  62,  120 

Pacer,  the,  295 

Pair-horse  brougham,  131 

Pair-horse  harness,  73 

Pair,  what  is  implied  by  a,  71 

Pairs,  275 

Park  drag,  the,  132 

harness  for,  133 
Park  tandems,  82 
Partitions,  solid  and  high  stall,  189 
Pease,  Levi,  12 
Perch,  the,  27 
Peters  phaeton,  the,  137 
Phaetons,  ladies',  30 
"Points,"  100 
Port  bit,  65 

Position  in  driving,  56,  57 
Process,  the  "cooling out,"  294 
Professionals  of  earlier  times,  309 
Proper  feeding,  177 
Public  coach  horse,  46 
Puller,  a,  1 1 2 

Quality,  248 
Quarter-cracks,  236 
Quitters,  236 

Race  course  at  Hempstead,  9 
Racers  of  earlier  times,  308 
Racing  first  sanctioned,  9 
Rations,  basis  of  equine,  179 
Raw  material,  211 
Read,  G.R.,  225 
Reins,  how  to  hold  the,  57 
how  to  shorten,  59 


DRIVING 


Reins,  method  of  holding,  36 

Relation  between  feeding  and  exercise, 

177 
"Reliance,"  the,  227 
"Republic,"  the,  226 
Requirements  for  matinee  horse,  284 
Reynardson,  Birch,  35 
Riding-master,  the,  remarks  of,  56 
Right-hand  side  of  vehicles,  sitting  on, 

145 
Ring-bones,  236 

Rivalry  between  competing  lines,  9 

Rives,  R.  W.,  224,  226 

Road,  6 1 

Road  coach,  the,  26 

equipments  of ,  135 
Road  coaches,  cost  of  new,  43 

cost  of  running,  52 

horses  for,  44-48 

servants  for,  44 
Road  coaching,  management  of,  41,  42 

rates  of,  43 

route  of,  43 
Road-Driving  and  Appointment,  269 
Road-driving,  harness  for,  273 
Road-horse,  273 
Road-house  proprietors,  311 
Road-rider,  the,  307 
Road-riders  of  earlier  times,  noted,  308 
Road  wagon,  appointments  of  the,  140 
"Road  wagon,"  the  earliest,  8 
Roads,  good,  263 
Roads,  the  early,  11 

the  national,  1 1 
Rockaway,  24,  29 

the  modem,  8 
Room,  ample,  190 
Roosevelt,  J.  R.,  224 
Royal  Mike,  305 
Rubber  pad,  the,  188 
Rubber  tires,  29 
Runabout,  the  modem,  29 
Runs,  quick,  1 1 

Salt, 182 

Saying,  an  old,  177 

Servants,  their  duties,  153 

" Setting  fair,"  173 

Seventh  Avenue  of  to-day,  309 

Shafts,  tandem  cart,  143 

Shoeing,  185 

Charlier  system  of ,  186 
Shoulder  and  muscle  soreness,  303 
Show-ring  competition,  209 
Shying,  238 

Side-bar  buggy,  the,  29 
Side-bone,  236 
Signals,  59 

Single  and  pair-horse  victoria,  131 
Single  brougham,  equipment  of,  129 

harness  of,  130 

style  of,  129 
Single-horse  driving,  harness  for,  63 

reins  for,  66 


Single-horse  driving.  Continued 

reins,  how  held  in,  68 
Sitting  on  right  side  in  driving,  149 
Slatted  stall  partitions,  175 
Slatted  stalls,  189 
Sleigh  horses,  305 
Sleighing  and  sleigh  horses,  313 
Sleighing  parties,  314 
Smith,  J.  Clinch,  225 
Snaffle,  four-ringed,  65 
"Snow  path,"  a,  317 
Snow,  use  of,  13 
Speed  wagon,  the,  30 

appointments  of,  141 
Speedy-cutting,  236 
Spider-phaeton,  the,  30 
Splints,  235 

"Squadron  A,"  the,  227 
"Squatty-going"  horses,  213 
Stable  equipment,  169-175 
Stable,  temperature  of,  191 
Stabling  and  stalls,  189 
Stage-coaching  in  America,  7 

in  England,  7 
Stage  lines  in  1 8 1 2 ,  11 

in    1818,    1829,    1832,    1838,   1773, 
1786,  12 
Stallion,  the,  256,  257 
Stalls,  arrangement  of,  190 
Stanhope,  the,  30 
Station  wagon,  the,  29 
Stomach,  the  horse's,  240 
String-halt,  236 
"Suppling,"  operation  of,  118 
Surry,  the,  29 

Tall  men,  vehicles  for,  270 
Tandem,  characteristic  of,  143 

servant  for,  143 
Tandem  driving,  30,  77-82 

harness  for,  80 

horses  for,  79 
Tandem  wr.gon,  78 
"Tantivy."  the,  226 
Taylor,  "Shotgun,"  36 
T-cart,  the.  30 
Teeth,  299 
"Tempest,  '  the,  225 
"TheVir-inian,"36 
Thorough-pin,  235 
Tilbury,  the,  31 

appointments  of ,  138 
Timothy  hay,  179 
Tip, the,  187 
Tolls,  12 

Tongue,  the,  duties  of,  121 
Training  raw  material,  211 
Transportation    from    Boston   to   New 

York,  8 
Travers,  W.  R.,  226 
Trotter,  shoeing  a,  286 
Trotting-bred  horse,  the,  230 
Trotting  on  ice ,  3 1 6 
Trotting  tracks,  311 


INDEX 


Trotting  trainer,  stable  of,  114 
True  condition,  183,  184 
Turnpike,  father  of  the,  12 
Turnpike,  the  first,  12 
Twichell,  the  Honourable  Ginery,  12 
Type,  American,  246 
Type-for-purpose,  247 
Types,  appropriate,  249,  250 

Unchecking,  215 
Underhill,  F.  T.,34,  225 
"Utility"  brougham,  131 

Vanderbilt,  a.  G.,  226 

Vehicle,  care  of,  for  driving  tours,  265 

Vehicles,  colour  of ,  146 

Ventilation  of  stable,  191 

Veterinary,  a,  175 

Vices,  the,  238 

Victoria,  the,  28 

high-backed,  146 

miniature,  147 
"Vivid,"  the,  225,  227 


Wagonette,  the,  28 
Warburton,  Barclay,  227 
Ware,  F.  M.,  226 
Water,  182 

Westchester  coach,  the,  228 
Wheels,  low  and  high,  269,  tjo 
Whip-hand,  59 
Whip,  the  101-104 

how  to  hold,  61 
Whisky,  the,  8 
Williams,  C.  P.,  226 
WilHs,  Bee,  36 
Wind-galls,  235 
Windows,  small,  146 
Wister,  Mr.  Owen,  36 
Woman's  horse,  essentials  of,  108 

requisites  of ,  108 
Women  the  best  judge  of  a  well-propor- 
tioned horse,  230 
Woodruff,  Hiram,  299 
Work,  Mr.  Frank,  292 

Yankee  drivers,  tj 
Yoxmg  horse,  the,  238 


:5i=*VW:^ 


Vetftilnary  Library 

Tufts  University 

School  of  Veterinary  Medkine 

200  Westboro  Rd. 

North  Grafton.  MA   C1!;3S 


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